Harry Potter and the Forgotten Memories
by Destany Mitchell
Summary: I'm sure this idea has been done before, but oh well. Please give it a shot. What happens when you are stripped of your memories? Who are you? What will you become? Can you be made to do things you once thought were wrong? PG-13 to be safe. Complete
1. Disclaimer and Authors Note

Disclaimer: (applies to whole story) I own nothing. Though I wish I did, only the plot and characters you do not recognize are my own.

**Authors Note: **Before you begin the story, I felt I should tell you how this idea came to me and about my alternate universe. First off, the story came to me in a dream a year after I have sworn off writing more fanfiction. But this dream was so vivid and to me, such a great story Idea, I had to put my pen to the paper at 2:00 am on October 26, 2004.

Now, for a bit of info on my universe. Do not ask me how, (I will figure out a good reason and add it into the story somewhere as a flashback) but Lily and James Potter did not die when Voldemort attacked them. They got out alive with their son, Harry. All events in the books (to my knowledge in the dream) remained the same besides the fact Sirius did not die in the fifth book. (I lived in denial for a few months after I read that ending…it made me so mad!!!) Anyway, some other order member died that was not of any importance to anyone, but of course Harry still blames himself for the death.

The story opens on the train coming home from Hogwarts.

I am sure my idea has been done before, and I am sorry if you readers are sick of it, but this plot really shocked me into writing it. Please give it a shot. Tell me the good the bad and the ugly in your reviews.

Thank You for reading and onto the story!

DarkHuntress


	2. Chapter 1: The Train Ride

**Disclaimer: **See the before section.

**Author's Note: **The alternate universe may not be clear to you if you do not read the disclaimer. I recommend reading it first. I will try to cover what you need to know in the story for those who do not read it, but I will not spend all my energies explaining the universe to you. If you have questions after you have read the disclaimer, feel free to ask.

Thank You and Enjoy the Story!

**Chapter 1: The Train Ride**

Harry Potter stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express. His best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasly sat on the seat across from him. Ron was sleeping with the occasional snore and drool pooling around the corner of his mouth. Hermione was reading some book.

Harry was looking out the window as the scenery passed by. Not really noticing it as he was lost in thought. This year, his relationship with his dad, James, began to dissolve. Harry had fleeting thoughts that his father forgot he existed on some occasions and when he did see him, all Harry received were lectures on being careful. The year he needed his father the most… Harry shuddered, and tried to repress thoughts of the incidents of the past year. He did not want to think about the night at the Department of Ministries. He did not want to think about being the last hope the wizarding world had.

_I'm only a kid. _He thought. _How am I supposed to save the world?_ **_Because you're not just a kid._**A voice deep down inside of him answered back.

"Harry?"

Harry looked over at Hermione, his mind thrusted from his thoughts. He realized he should tell her what he learned. About the prophecy. He feared that speaking it would make it all the more real. But the biggest reason, the one that kept him silent was the fear she would stop being his friend. Knowing what would most likely happen to him in the end.

"What's wrong?" She demanded.

"I'm fine 'Mione, really." Harry lied. Trying to sound sincere, but knew he failed miserably.

"Harry. You don't have to lie to me." She stated and he sighed.

"I just—I don't want to go home." He admitted.

"Why? I thought that-"

"I just need a break. I would give anything right now to just…get away for awhile. Not having to think about what's happening." Harry admitted, hoping the answer would satisfy her. The statements were true, but that wasn't what really bothered him.

"Maybe you could spend some of the summer at my home? I could ask mum and dad. I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Hermione offered.

"I don't think I'll be very good company." He admitted.

"Harry, you're always welcome." Hermione said and Harry realizes just how much he had come to depend on his friend. Her hair was bushy today, and curly. She didn't seem to put much care into it as she did before. She had taken off her robes and now wore her muggle clothes, jeans and a nice t-shirt. He realized then how truly beautiful she really was.

"Thanks 'Mione." He said a small smile on his lips. The friends smiled at each other for a moment.

"Harry? Can I ask you something? You don't hafta answer..."

"It's ok." Harry said, fearing he already knew what she was going to say.

"What do you think was in that prophecy?" She asked.

He didn't answer a first, but he felt panicky all over again.

"Harry?"

"I know 'Mione." Harry said, so softly he hoped she could not hear him.

"Know what?" She said, but he knew she knew what he meant.

"What the prophecy says." Harry stated, dryly. _Please Hermione, don't ask. _Harry thought, already knowing she would.

"What did it say? How do you know? I thought it was smashed!" Hermione said, looking excited and incredulous at the same time.

Harry nodded in agreement to her last statement and did not say more for a moment. He hoped she would forget about it, but she looked like a little kid in a candy store.

"Dumbledore told me. It—"

The train came to a lurching stop, sending Harry to the floor and causing Ron to wake up.

"Harry!" Hermione said, loudly and looked down at her friend who was sprawled on the floor.

"Why's Harry on the floor?" Ron asked.

"Because it's magic." Harry said, sarcastically.

"Really?" Ron asked.

Harry and Hermione looked at Ron with looks that read 'you cannot be serious.'

"What's going on?" Hermione said, breaking the silence.

"I don't know." Harry said, stepping up from the floor. Hermione and Ron got out of their seats and they heard someone yelling a spell indistinctly.

The friends looked at each other, pulled out their wands and left their car (or whatever sectioned off sections of trains are called.)

"Harry Potter. What a pleasure." A deatheater said sarcasm evident in the voice.

Before the trio could do anything, another deatheater sent a curse at them. The three ducked and the spell left a gaping hole in the train behind them, leading to the outside.

Harry stood up, ready to say any spell that came to mind when He felt himself being hit by the expellimus curse. He flew back and Hermione and Ron watched as their friend flew out the hole.

"HARRY!" Hermione yelled.

And that was the last thing Harry remembered before the darkness. That and falling.

To be continued.

**A/N: **dun dun dun! I actually have more written, but this is all I had time to type up. So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Stupid? What? Tell me, please. I really want to know if what I'm writing is complete crap. But I think you would get a better idea of it when I get the next couple of chaps up. Please R&R. I will try and post as often and frequently as possible, but I am a High School Senior and I work. So please be patient with me.

Thank you for all who read. Please Please Please R&R! I won't post more until I get a couple of reviews! (J/K, but review anyway!)


	3. Chapter 2: The Aftermath

Chapter 2: The Aftermath

"HARRY!" Hermione yelled and tried to run to the hole in the car, but Ron quickly grabbed her around the waist to hold her back. Other Hogwarts students were standing around in shock. Neither student nor Deatheater moved. It was as if time itself has stopped.

"Now Mudblood, it's your turn." One of the deatheaters said, looking at Hermione. Wand ready. Before the Deatheater could do anything, a familiar crack was followed by a group of Order members. Ron recognized Mad Eye Moody, Tonks, Remus Lupin, and not the others that joined them.

The fight was short, almost as if they had accomplished what they had come for.

"Is everyone ok?" Remus asked, noting the upset Hermione.

"Harry." Was all Hermione said in reply. Ron let go of her and Hermione slowly walked over to the hole harry had been blown through moments before, looking for any sign of her fallen friend.

"Where's harry?" Remus asked.

"He's not on the train." Mad Eye said, confirming Remus's worst fear. Remus looked over at Hermione sadly.

"Ron, can you tell us what happened?" Tonks asked, knowing the other would not be able to tell them much right now. Tonks watched as ron took a shaky breath and began to tell the tale.

"I was asleep, and I felt the train lurch to a stop. We, Hermion, Harry, and Me, walked out of the compartment to see what was going on. A Deatheater sent a curse I don't think anyone of us caught. We ducked, and it left that hole over there."

Remus studied the hole in the wall, noticing it took out pretty much the whole compartment. Ron continued.

"Next thing I knew, Harry was getting up, but he was thrown back, I think by the same curse. I didn't hear what they said. He fell through the hole in the wall moments before." Ron said, concluding his version of the events.

The order members all looked solem, Remus especially.

"He's alive." Hermione said for the first time, startling everyone. They all looked over at her.

Gone was the upset, widowed teenager. She now looked more confident than Ron had ever seen her.

"Hermione, no one could have—"

"You're wrong. I'd know if he were gone. I could feel it. He's still alive." She insisted, worrying everyone.

"'mione, we don't want to believe it, but-"

"NO! I know he's still alive!" Hermione insisted. The train driver came back to talk to the order members.

"Look, you two go and move to a new car. We'll talk to-"

"No. We have to find Harry." Hermione insisted. _They are wrong. _Hermione thought. _He's still alive. He'll come back to me. _She thought as she gazed out the hole.

"Come on 'mione." Ron said, grabbing her arm. She looked up at Remus.

"You don't believe me. do you?" Hermione said, said, sounding defeated.

"We'll look into it hun." Tonks said, looking at her in sympathy. Hermione looked away and left the group. NO longer able to stand the sympathy.

"You should go after her." Remus said to Ron.

"Do you think she could be right?" Ron asked, looking at the experienced wizards.

"Ron, when someone loves someone else deeply, even if they do not know it yet, and one dies, they never want to believe they are really gone." Remus said, sounding as if he spoke from experience.

"I'm worried about her." Ron stated.

"She'll be ok. What she really needs right now is a friend." Tonks said, and Ron nodded, taking her advice.

"I'm going to go find her." Ron said, and left the order members. Feeling worst than before.

Hermione ran to the only place she could think of. She ran past the students who tried to ask her questions and scared first years. She shoved anyone and anything out of her way as she ran down the hallway, feeling as if it were a hundred miles and not just a few feet. She opened the compartment door, thankful no one was there, as she had thought. She sat down on the seat of the prefect cart, her legs pulled into her chest and head resting on her knees.

A small sob escaped her throat as the tears started. _Why am I crying? He's not gone. He can't be gone. I need him. Everyone needs him._ She thought. She heard the compartment door open. She ignored it and tried to stop her tears, but she failed. She felt like she was being ripped apart. Her heart was also ripped out of her chest and stomped on by a heard of wild elephants.

"Hey. I knew I would find you here." A familiar voice said and she wished now more than ever that that familiar voice was Harry's.

"Go away Ron." Hermione said, and could not hold back a sob. She heard him step closer and felt the seat move as he sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort.

The train moved forward again, moving the now duo away from their fallen friend.

"Do you, Do you really think he's alive?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked up. Her eyes were full of tears, and her cheeks tear stained.

"Of course." She answered simply. "I don't know how Ron. I just know that deep down in my heart, I know he is alive."

"You love him, don't you?" Ron asked, as a friend. She was silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry, you don't—"

"I didn't realize it before. I started to realize it more and more as I watched him fall apart this year." Ron nodded and placed his arm around her shoulders in comfort.

Hermione laid her head on his shoulder and the friends stayed like that the rest of the ride, both lost in their own thoughts and memories.

To be continued.

A/N:

One thing I want to know is, (if anyone ever reads this) should I give Harry a sibling? Being as his parents didn't die? I originally thought against it, but then the more I think about it, the more I argue with myself. So, what do you guys think? I could always re-work a sibling in there some how. (Would probably be a second year student?) Anyway, let me know your thoughts.

DarkHuntress


	4. Chapter 3: Platform Nine &Three Quarters

**A/N: **Here is where I wanted the vote on Harry's sibling, but I want to get this story moving, so when the votes come in, or if I decide to change it because no one is reviewing, then I'll let you know and write a small background info on the sibling and his or her relationship with everyone else.

Onto the story!

**Chapter 3: Platform 9 ¾ **

Lily Potter and Molly Weasly stood on Platform 9 ¾, worried that the train was now late.

"I hope they didn't run into any trouble." Lily said, and Molly understood the unspoken comment.

"I'm sure it's not what you think dear." Molly said, trying to comfort her friend.

"Maybe you're right. But something tells me something is not at all right." Lily said, fidgeting slightly. Molly nodded in agreement. She was having the same thoughts and feelings.

"Lily!" She turned and saw her husband, James Potter, trotting towards her.

"James! What are you doing here?" She asked. "I thought you had to work." She accused him.

"I kind of am." James said.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, her panic rising again.

"We got word from a couple of order members the Hogwarts train was attacked." James said, glumly.

"OH my god. Was anyone hurt?" Lily asked and James shrugged.

"We don't know. No one told us." James said, noting the fear on Lily's face.

"I'm sure the kids are fine. I mean, look at the messes they tend to find themselves in at school." Molly joked, trying to ease Lily's fears.

"Molly's right. I'm sure Harry and the other kids are ok." James said, taking her hand and kissing it lightly.

"What if he isn't? What if-" Lily couldn't continue speaking and James hugged her.

"No one knows anything?" Molly asked.

"No. How are you Molly?" James asked, trying to lighten the mood. Before Molly could answer, the train pulled up and all the parents stopped what they were doing to watch it.

"Oh, thank god." Molly said and watched as Ginny got off the train and walked over towards the group, looking sad.  
"Ginny!" Molly said, and hugged her daughter. When she pulled back, James and Lily noted the sad look in her eyes.

"Ginny, what-" Before James could hear the rest of what she said, he saw Remus step off the train.

"I just saw Moony get off, I'm going to ask him if he knows what happened." James told Lily and gave her a quick kiss and shoved his way through the crowds.

"Moony!" James yelled to get his friends attention. Remus stopped and looked at James, and James noticed a strange look on his friends face.

"Moony, what..are you ok?" James asked, spooked on how said his friend looked.

"yeah, I'm fine James. But…"

"Remus, what happened?" James asked, and watched as Remus closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts.

"James, I think we should go some place quiet. I think you need to sit down."

"Remus, tell me what happened before I start assuming the worst." James said, terrified he knew what Remus was trying to tell him.

"When we got there, James, there was nothing we could do. The Deatheaters had already attacked and injured a few students. We fought them off, but they pretty much left without force. They seemed…pleased with themselves. As if they just got away with something worth a lot to our side.."

"Don't tell me.."  
"James, the kids where the kids. They went out to see what was going on. Ron told me there was some kind of blast. We haven't been able to figure out the curse yet, but it put a hole in the wall. The second one hit Harry. He…he was blown out of the train." Remus said, his eyes tearing up.

"Are they.."

"yes, we're sure." Remus said, placing a hand on his friends shoulder.

James glanced back at Lily who was beginning to figure out what had probably happened. James saw Ron and Hermione leaving the train, and a coldness touched his soul knowing his son would never step off the train again, laughing with his friends.

"Does Lily know yet?" James asked. Remus shrugged.

James closed his eyes, trying to hold back the emotions so he could stay strong for his wife. The love of his life.

"Do you want me"

"No, I'll tell her." James said, cutting him off.

"James, I'm so sorry." Remus said. "There was nothing…we were too late."

"I don't blame you Moony. I know you would have done everying in your power to save him." Remus nodded and watched his friend walk over to Lily.

He felt bad for the young couple. They never seemed to be able to get away from the costs of war. Just 15 years ago they had almost lost everything. He watched as James pulled Lily aside. He could gage her reaction and felt his heart break for them when he saw her sob.

The two Potters, his best friends, stood aside, holding each other. Grieving the loss of their child.


	5. Chapter 4: So, What Ever Happened to Har...

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long guys! I'm setting a goal to try and post a chapter a day, but it didn't happen last night (Friday night) because I had to work and my parents were leaving for out of town so my mom wanted me to help her clean the house (I don't understand why, but whatever) and I was for some odd reason, exhausted. And today I had to work this afternoon, and when I came home almost instantaneously one of my friends came by and hung out. She just left 10 minutes ago and put a crank in my plan to get chaps 4-8 up tonight. But anywho, Thanks to all who reviewed and answering your questions, or commenting on your response:

**Stellablu**: No, Harry does not have a sibling as of yet, but I am thinking about not adding it as I've already written to the 9th chapter and it seems to be flowing well without it.

**Ghostly Green**: Thank you for checking this out. I'll work more on my descriptiveness. (I was trying so hard that night to get another chapter posted that I just ran it through MS Word's spell check and called it a night. I usually proof read and add things and take out stuff, re-word, ECT.) If it's looking like I might need more help, I'll contact you on beta reading. Thank you for your criticism.

**Scarhead**: lol, no Sirius did not go to Azkaban. I thought I put that in the first authors note in the beginning, but I must have forgotten. I'll get into more detail about the sims. And diffs. Later on. You'll learn more about Harry in this chapter: D

**Silvertears: **Glad to know I succeeded well in the emotion. I found Hermione surprisingly easy to write, while this chapter I had a hard time on.

**Anvia: **You will find out what happens to Harry shortly. I refuse to tell anyone. evil laugh (as I stated before, I am in the middle of writing chapter nine…so I have a good idea where this is all going: D)

**Schnabeldame: **as I said above to stella, I don't think I'll do the sibling thing for now. Who knows, maybe I'll add a twist later if I feel it necessary gasps

And now enough with my rambling and onto what you all are here for….

**Chapter 4: So, What Ever Happened To Harry?**

The first thing he felt was the pain. He felt it as soon as he was conscious enough to feel it and even then, he was subconsciously aware of it. He felt as if his head had been put into a blender and then reattached to his body.

He groaned. His body was sore, and it hurt more to move. It even hurt to think. There was a pulsating pain behind his eyes, almost as if it were the drum set to a rock bands drummer.

_What happened?_ He wondered. The last thing he remembered was falling. Actually, that was the _only _thing he remembered. That and brown, bushy hair.

He worked through the pain to open his eyes. The lights caused even more pain and he had to quickly close his eyes again. He groaned as he squeezed them tightly closed.

_What happened to me?_ He wondered. He tried to search his mind for something to tell him what happened. He panicked when he found there was nothing there. No memories, no name, nothing. Just a remembrance of falling and the bushy hair.

He tried to open his eyes again and looked around. He was in a dimly lit room and pondered why the dim lights hurt his eyes so much at first. He glanced around, noticing the walls were made out of a dark gray stone, almost like one would see in a castle. How he knew this, he did not know. He shivered, and that brought his attention to the coolness of the room. There were no windows, no doors. Just a plain rectangular room with stone walls and a boy, with no memory lying in the center, looking confused.

He slowly sat up, suppressing the groans of pain and working past his muscles protests of movement. There were no cuts, just all soreness. He tried to remember again, where he was, who he was, and why he was here, wherever here was, and what the falling and hair meant.

A stone wall slid open with a slight bang that echoed throughout the empty room. There was a tall man standing there in black robes with a cloak-like hood over his head, shadowing his face from view. All he could see what from his upper lip down. The man made the boy uneasy. Almost like his instincts were telling him something he could not figure out.

"The Dark Lord wants you."

"The Dark Lord?" He asked, puzzled.

"Come." The man said, and the boy looked at him, hesitantly. The man reached out and grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled the boy out of the room.

Once they got down the hall a little, the man released the boy. The boy reached over to his arm, and winced as he rubbed the place the man grabbed him at. He wondered if he would get a bruise.

As they walked, he studied the walls and the doors. The walls were made of the same stone with torches suspended in mid air. As if they stayed in place by magic and nothing else. Every once-in-awhile, there would be a stone door that would slid open, as he his had done.

Some of the men in the halls gave him glares and looked as if they wanted to rip him to shreds. It made his body alert, and he found himself constantly looking around to watch for any sign of a threat.

After what seemed like forever, the man stopped and opened a door. Above the archway was elaborate designs cut into the stone. The boy wondered for a moment if they meant something to whoever was behind the door.

The man shoved the boy into the room, and left him there. The boy stood in the doorway, scanning the faces of the men who sat in chairs around him. They all looked up at him and stopped what they were doing. He saw some had looks of awe, others of hatred. One or two had looks of indifference. He wondered what he had ever done to receive the looks he was receiving and cursed himself for forgetting everything.

One of the men, one with blonde hair that was definitely not a natural color. It was almost what one would call, platinum blonde, or bleach blonde. He had an air of arrogance. Almost as if everyone else was below him and he looked at everyone down his nose.

"Why, if it isn't the"

"Who are you?" The boy asked.

"Excuse me?" The blonde man asked.

"I'm sorry, but…I…do I know you?" He asked, hesitantly.

The blonde man looked at him strangely and smiled, what the boy thought of as thoughtful and sly all at the same time.

"Why yes, why do you ask?" The blonde man asked. The boy got the impression he already knew, but answered the question anyway.

"I can't remember." He said, simply.

"Can't remember me?" The blonde man asked.

"No, well, Yes. But not just you, me, everything."

The blonde man's grin got wider. The boy wondered if it was going to take over his whole face.

"Well, I am Luscious Malfoy." The blonde man said, with false politeness.

"Hi, I'm sorry I can't tell you who I am." The boy said and the man he now knew as Lucious Malfoy laughed.

"What is going on here?" Another man said, his tone authorative.

"Ah, My Lord, it seems the boy can not remember anything."

The man who spoke before looked at the boy and back at Malfoy. He looked thoughtful and let out a small chuckle. He then leaned in close to Malfoy and whispered something to Luscious the boy could not hear.

"Harry"  
"Is that my name?" They boy asked. And the man smiled. He was also wearing dark robes and a similar hood to the man who had brought him here.

"Yes, your name is Harry."

"And you are…"

"I am your mentor." The man said, and Harry frowned.

"Can you tell me…what happened to me?" Harry asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the mans face but was not succeeding.

"It was a terrible accident. Come with me, and I will tell you everything." The man said, and Harry thought he sensed the man's tone of sincerity seemed…forced. As if he was trying hard to be nice.

Harry looked at the men and noticed a strange look on their faced. Almost as if they had just…accomplished some great feat.

_I don't like this. _He thought to himself, uncertainly. A voice deep down in his mind answered back _what choice do you have?_


	6. Chapter 5: Explanations and More Questio...

**A/N:** All I hafta say now is thanks to those who reviewed. I hope to get this typed up before I go see _The Grudge_. Have a Happy Halloween!

**Scarhead101: **Thanks for the correction. I didn't think that was the correct spelling, and I was too lazy to look it up at 12 am when I was typing this up last night (Eastern Time). Thanks for the correction.

**Silvertears:** We already discussed it and I hope you do not tip the others off. ;) Keep reading

**StellaBlu:** Here's the more you requested

**Chapter 5: Explanations and More Questions**

"So, this…James Potter, he's evil?" Harry asked, trying to make sure he understood what he heard.

"Yes, he is. He is slandering my good name." (Author chokes.)

"And he is brainwashing the general population?" He continued, looking at his so called Mentor with an incredulous look.

"Harry, we are all wizards. Potter just needs to use a simple memory charm to"

"How do I know you are not using this…memory charm on me?" Harry asked, trying to look into his mentors face as he asked the question, but was not able to because of the hood. _Is he trying to hide from me?_ He wondered.

"You just have to trust me Harry." He said, and watched as the boy frowned.

_Something isn't right_. Harry thought, and tried to figure out what is was.

He looked down at the floor for a moment, gathering his thoughts; processing everything he was just told. Something deep down inside of him told him the opposite. This man was lying to him. He knew this but could not remember why. Or know how he knew this. It was almost instinctive to not trust him. _But who else is there? Who else can I trust if it isn't him?_

"You never told me what happened to me." He stated, looking back up from the floor.

"Harry, you were in an accident. Coming home from school, Potter's gang attacked. They call themselves 'The Order of the Phoenix.' You were tragically thrown from the train. Luckily, one of my…friends…saved you."

Harry noted mentally the way the word 'friends' seemed to be forced.

"Yeah…" Harry said, feeling the headache from earlier return. It felt almost like it did when he first woke up, but not as strongly. A pulsating behind his temple.

"I know this is a lot to take in…"

"No, I'm just…trying to recall anything you just said." Harry said, feeling slightly hopeless.

"Did you?" The man asked, his voice sounding anxious.

"No." Harry said, sounding defeated.

"I'm sure you will remember all this later." He said and seemed to look around, as if he were searching for something.

"Why don't you go and rest now? It's been a long day for you. Who knows, maybe you'll remember." The man said, and almost sneered remember.

_It seems as if he doesn't want me to._ Harry thought. _Why? What do I know?_ He wondered.

The man called someone in to bring Harry to a room. Harry did not pay attention to the conversation, and the two left, what would be an office in the muggle world. As they walked down the halls, the man chatted about how great the 'Dark Lord' was.

_Dark Lord? Why do they call him the dark lord if he's supposed to be the good guy? _Harry wondered.

The man cut off his thoughts.

"So, you really can't remember? Anything?"

"Yes."

"You have no clue who you are."

"Correct."

"That is so weird!" The man said and Harry looked at him strangely.

"Yeah, whatever." He said as they turned down another hallway and the man paused at the last door on the right.

"You can stay here. And the password is 'mudblood'." The man said and left Harry standing alone in the dimly lit hallway.

Harry said the password, wondering why it sounded so bad, and entered the room. The door slid close behind him.

The room was made of the same dark stone the rest of the place was with the same dim lighting. There were several torches suspended in the air that all flamed the same height with the same amount of brightness. There was a bed on the far wall with curtains drawn around. Harry reached to touch them and recognized the dark cloth as navy blue velvet. The comforter of the bed was black, along with the matching pillowcases.

The room had no windows. Harry frowned at this, and pondered on the lack of windows for a moment before continuing to explore the room. Across from the bed was a large oak dresser. The dresser had the same intricate designs carved into it, similar to the ones on the doorway earlier.

He pulled open one of the drawers, seeing it full of the same robes everyone else wore. (I.e. Harry is in his muggle clothes…which are now dirty and torn in places from the fall) He fingered the light material and held them up to inspect them better. There was a familiar looking patch on them. It was dark green with snakes on it. The bottom declared 'Slytherin'.

_Slytherin?_ _What does that mean? _Harry wondered, trying to recall what Slytherin meant to him. The only thing he could find was a feeling of distaste. He did not know why, so he refolded the robes, mentally shrugging off the feeling and put them back into the drawer.

Next to the dresser was a tall archway. He walked through, discovering a mini-library.

He walked over to the shelves, scanning book titles as he went. They were all books like: _How to use the Dark Arts, The Wizards Guide to Unforgiveables, _and_ Dark Arts Throughout the Age._

Harry picked up one of the books. It was titled, _Learning The Dark Arts_ by Madam Shiri Cornelius.

He flipped through the pages, scanning the different chapter headings. They were all _Basic Spells, When You Will Use These Spells, Recognizing Unforgiveables, Wizarding Duels, and More Advanced Dark Arts, _and similar chapter headings.

_Why all the books on Dark Arts? _Harry wondered, _but then again if you are to fight someone who knows the Dark Arts, it is best to know about them. But why so many? Why do I feel as if something isn't right? If this is where I belong, then why am I feeling so…edgy, so alert? _He tried to reason with himself, but only came up with more questions which confused him more. A voice answered his ponderings from the back of his mind _because you don't._

He sighed and put the book back in its place. He scanned for more beginning level spells. If he was a wizard, then it would be a good idea to remember how to do magic. He reasoned.


	7. Chapter 6: Two Days Later

**Stella:** Glad you like it. Q: is he going to ask voldemort about the bushy hair he remembers/is he going to see Hermione? A: Good question, even I don't know everything. It depends, I'm still debating on some small aspect and that will determine what happens next….  
Q: is Harry using occlumency without knowing it? because if he wasn't, wouldn't voldemort be able to know what he was thinking? A: Ah, Good question. I really don't know how to answer that one as I do not know the answer myself. I believe so, but the last few (and next 2) all came from the dream I had. I'm merely writing it down as it happened there. Chapter 9 starts my own writing without that help…does that make any sense? But Yes, to your question as Voldemort has now clue about Harry's thoughts. (Maybe I'll address that in the end of this chapter or in the next…)

Q: shouldn't Harry's scar be hurting? A: I've kinda covered that with the headache. Harry hasn't been able to see a mirror, so he has no clue he has the scar, so I left it as a headache to kind of touch on that aspect of his character.

I hope that answers your questions…I really don't know how to answer them any other way.

On another note: Just came back from seeing The Grudge, and if you're looking for a creepy movie, I recommend it. It's right up there with The Ring. Anywho, enough about movies and onto why you're really here. Here's the next section, hope you enjoy… (And I hope no one seems too out of character, I try, really I do…)

**Chapter 6: 2 Days Later**

Hermione sat up in her room. She sat on her bed reading over old letters Harry had written her. She knew she should be doing her summer homework, but she could not bring herself to concentrate. She kept having thoughts of Harry and it always broke her concentration and left her feeling sad and alone.

She heard a rustling and looked over by her desk where the noise had come from. Hedwig was sitting there, perched on top of her cage. The owl seemed as glumly as she felt.

Hermione got up from her seat on the bed and crossed over to the owl that once belonged to her friend. _Correction still belongs to her friend_. She corrected herself. She reached out and petted the owls' smooth feathers. James and Lily had gave her Harry's prized owl, saying he would want Hermione to have her. Crookshanks was not that thrilled at having the owl living with her, but they got along ok.

"I know you miss Harry girl. I do too." Hermione said, continuing to stroke the owl.

She looked up as she saw another owl fly in. She recognized it as the 'Daily Prophet' Owl. She quickly grabbed her money, paid it and took her paper, sitting down on the bed again and began to read.

She scowled when she saw the front page headline. It read 'Wizarding World in Shock over Harry Potter's Death'. She scanned the article, seeing how Fudge chose to deal with that one. Surprisingly, most of the facts were true. The comments at the bottom made her angry. Comments from people who knew nothing about Harry were saying things like "The boy-who-lived didn't live this time…" She threw the paper across the room, scattering sections all over her room. She didn't care, she was too angry to care. She startled Hedwig and woke up Crookshanks from his nap at the end of her bed.

The tears threatened to fall again. _Harry isn't dead. _She thought angrily. _I know it. He can't be. _Trying to convince herself of the fact. She knew the others thought of her in denial, but they don't understand. No one understood her connection to him.

She sat on her bed, lost in her thoughts, memories dancing across her brain. Harry when she first saw him on the train, Harry jumping on that stupid broomstick in first year just to prove a point to Malfoy, Harry in second year when the blunger hit Harry's arm, Harry as he stood close to her so she could work the time turner so they could free Sirius, Harry laughing at Ron, and Harry's face as he fell out of the train-

Her thoughts were interrupted when another owl flew into her room and landed next to her on her bed. She immediately recognized it as Ron's owl, Pig. She untied the letter and opened, reading what Ron had wrote.

_Dear Hermione,_

_ Have you seen the Prophet?! What a load of _

_ crock! It made me so mad! I can't believe all _

_ The stuff they said! _

_ How are you? Mum went by the Potter's_

_ Earlier to see how they were holding up._

_ Mum says she's worried about them. She_

_ Thinks they might do something drastic._

_ (That was a word she used. ;))_

_ I gatta go, Mum needs me to go and de-_

_ Gnome the garden. Talk to ya later._

_ Ron_

Hermione sighed as she finished the letter. She crossed to her desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and pen. (Saving the parchment and ink for her school work). She gave Pig an owl treat and shooed him away, as she was going to send Hedwig out. She hoped the owl would deliver the letter for her. She sat down at her desk and began to write her reply.

_Dear Ron, _

_ Yes, I saw the Prophet. And I do agree_

_ They could have said nicer things but_

_ What can we do? We know the truth _

_ And so do those who matter. _

_ I'm sorry to hear about the Potters. _

_ But think Ron, they just lost their only_

_ Child. Wouldn't you be upset? _

_ I still think Harry's alive out there_

_ Somewhere. You can think what you_

_ Want, but I know the truth. He'll come_

_ Back. I know it. I've been ok so far. _

_ Nothing to brag about. Just so you _

_ Know, Lily gave me Hedwig. She said_

_ Harry would want me to have her. __L_

_ I'm hoping she will deliver this to you,_

_ Hedwig's been so depressed. _

_ I can't stop myself from wondering, if_

_ Harry's alive, why haven't we seen him?_

_ Where is he? I hope that…you know who_

_ Doesn't have him. _

_ I have to go. My parents will be home _

_ Soon and I know I'll hafta help unload_

_ Groceries. _

_ Talk to ya later:_

_ Hermione_

Hermione finished her letter and tied it to Hedwig's leg.

"Take this to Ron." She told the owl. Hedwig seem to almost glare at her and flew out the open window. Moments later, she heard her parents pull into the drive way. She sighed and turned away from the window.

_Two days ago I was talking to Harry about staying here the summer. Two days ago everything was more or lessly normal. Two days ago, I knew there would be hope for us someday. Two days ago, our worlds were shattered. I should have done something else. Insisted harder to find him. Two days ago, my heart left me with Harry's so called death. Two days ago, I was actually living. _

"Hermione!"

Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts and she left her room, yelling "Coming" as she trotted down the stairs of her family home.

"Can you help us unload the car?" Her mom asked her arms full of grocery bags.

"Sure." She said, and left the house, and walked out to the car.

_Two days ago, my only worry was of my O.W.L. scores. _

She picked up a couple of bags and started to walk the bags into the house.

_Two days ago, I could say that I was happy. _


	8. Chapter 7: The Dark Lord

**A/N:** Hey guys, I have returned, I hope you miss me! J Actually, you probably only come for the story, but oh well. I'm getting really mad with chapter 12. I came up with this really good idea, but it was almost too early in the story for it so I had to rewrite it and it will be inserted in a later chapie…and then I got this other idea for another character I really did not want to write and I don't think I have the personality right at all, and it's really frustrating. I'm going to continue to play with it and hopefully it will turn out ok…anywho, onto the real reason you are all here, the next chapter!

OH, and btw: Thanks to all for the reviews I really appreciate it (I do not remember who I need to address so I'll start doing that again in the next chapter.)

**Chapter 7: **

"My lord, why are we keeping the Potter boy alive?" A death eater asked.

"Because, I want to turn Harry Potter into one of us before he remembers. Make him an outlaw to his own kind and he will have no choice but to serve." Voldemort explained, laughing at his own devilish plan.

"I think it is a risk, sir. An unnecessary one. What happens when James Potter or Dumbl"

"Do not speak that name!" Voldemort yelled, making all the deatheaters in the room cringe.

"I apologize my lord. But, point being, what happens when they find out we have the Potter kid?"

"This is why we keep him a secret until the correct time comes."

"We cannot keep the boy locked up. He's bound to ask questions that way."

"We can do as we please." Voldemort said, and saw another deatheater walk into the room. Voldemort recognized him as Severus Snape.

"Ah, Severus, what do you have for me?"

"Nothing more than the obvious." The professor said.

"Tell me the details." He ordered and saw Snape sigh.

"The wizarding world is in hysterics after Potter's death."

"Have they met yet?"

"There is a meeting tonight to discuss current events." Snape answered, knowing they was the Order of the Phoenix.

"Good. Be there." Voldemort said and Snape nodded. (A/N: I was so tempted to have his 'wig' flying off Snape's head, but I figured that didn't really fit the seriousness of the story, so I left it out.)

"Anyone else have anything to report?" Voldemort asked.

"My lord." The same deatheater that spoke earlier.

"What Dominik?"

"What are we to say to the boy?"

Voldemort rolled his eyes and Snape looked confused for a moment. Voldemort flung out his wand and said "crucio" faster than ever before.

All the death eaters watched, with grimaces on their faces as Domink writhed in pain. Voldemort watched, his eyes twinkling in amusement with a small smile on his face. After a moment, which seemed like an eternity to everyone else, the spell was lifted.

"Any questions?"

There was a murmur amongst the group and the meeting was called to an end.

Harry sat in his room, reading the books on magic. He found he was actually really good at the spells and performed them all with ease. Harry stopped practicing when a creature entered the room. It was small with floppy ears that reminded Harry of a rabbit for some reason with the nose of a raccoon. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry knew it was a house-elf. He was carrying a tray of food, set it down on the dresser and left silently, never once making any kind of noise.

Harry set the book down on his bed, marking his page by folding the corner down and went to examine the tray. Since he had no clue what he actually liked, he stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what looked and smelled the best.

Harry decided to try a little of everything – a piece of chicken, some potatoes, corn, beans, peas, bread, slice of ham, and other things he was not sure what they were but tasted good anyway.

As he ate, he had a flash:

_ Walking into a large hall and sitting down at a long table. Everyone at the table was happy and talking amongst themselves loudly. The robes on the fellow kids had a patch on them, similar to the one he had found before. They were red and gold with lions on them. The writing underneath proclaimed Gryffindor. He looked to his right and saw her. She was smiling at him, her teeth flashing, brown (?) eyes bright, and bushy hair curled wildly around her head. To him, she was truly beautiful._

_Who is she_? Harry wondered. _What do these Slytherin and Gryffindor things mean? Was I in a gang? Where was this…great hall? School? Someone in this place, wherever it was?_

Harry groaned in frustration and lost his appetite. He tried focusing on the girl with the bushy hair, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall any other thought of her.

"Who are you?" He muttered.

The door to his room opened, jarring him from his thoughts. A woman stepped in. She was in her mid twenties with wavy brown hair that fell to her waist and sapphire blue eyes. She was shorter than him by a couple of inches. She was of average size and Harry did not think he had ever seen her before.

"He's ready for you." She said, watching him.

"Who?"

"The dark lord?" She said, simply.

"Who is the dark lord?" Harry asked and she did not answer.

Harry sighed and grabbed his wand from his bed, sticking it in his robe pocket.

She stepped outside and Harry followed her.

"Who are you?"

"No one important." She said.

"You don't have a name?"

"It is Samira." She answered, and walked hurriedly down the halls. Harry had to almost jog to keep up with her and wondered how someone so short could walk so quickly.

She led him down several corridors and seemed to do so as if she were on autopilot, but to Harry, it seemed completely at random.

She stopped at a doorway that was shaped like an arch.

"Go on. He's waiting for you." She said and Harry walked into the room and looked around.

It was like any other room. It was made of the same stone walls, but had elaborate cloths hanging from the ceiling. There were candles that floated high above his head, which did not drip wax and seemed to never flicker. There was a blood red rug on the floor that ended with the start of a dark red chair that faced the fireplace. The fire crackled and popped and cast various shadows on the walls. There was a figure in the chair, who Harry assumed must be his so called 'Mentor.'

_But why the dark lord?_ Harry wondered. _If he's supposively good, then why is he called the dark lord? It makes no sense._ His head started to ache again, and Harry winced, wondering why his head seemed to hurt a lot in this place.

"Harry, come here." The man said and Harry walked cautiously towards the arm chair.

"Do you have any questions for me Harry?" He asked, and Harry felt his hair sear in pain. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breathes to try and ease the pain. It began to slowly subside.

"Actually, I do not wish to offend you, but…why does everyone call you 'The Dark Lord' if you're supposed to be the…" Harry could not think of a good way to say it. Something told him that this 'good' man wasn't really all that good. But what choice did he have not to try and trust him. His instincts were screaming at him to run and he could not think of any indication why. He felt like he had entered the middle of a movie and was never gave the script while everyone else had one.

"I see. Harry, you may not want to keep asking questions. One would think you do not believe in the cause."

"You asked if I had any questions. That was my question." Harry pointed out.

The man rose from the chair and turned to face him. Harry wondered how the man managed to keep his face hidden. Though they were face to face without the hood, the shadows casted right over his face so he could not see it clearly.

"Don't test me Po-Harry."

Harry glared at him.

"It seems sir; you are trying to keep something from me."

"Kids shouldn't be so nosey. That gets them into trouble." Voldemort said, his voice conveying a warning.

_I really don't belong here. _Harry thought.

"Why do you keep me locked in that room? Why am I here, and why—"

Harry couldn't finish his challenging remarks for Voldemort put the crutasius curse on him. Harry fell to his hands and knees, biting his lip hard so he tasted blood in his mouth. He decided he would not give the 'dark lord' the satisfaction of hearing him scream when he really wanted to.

After what seemed like an eternity of pain, the curse was lifted.

"Do not defy me." He warned again and turned around. "You may go." He waved a hand in dismissal and sat back down in his arm chair. Harry got up shakily and left the room, slowly.

_I have to get out of here. I have to be right, there is something wrong here. _

Harry tried to figure out how to leave this place, how Samira had brought him from his room, but he could not remember. He started walking, hoping he'd run into an exit to this place that seemed to have no direction.


	9. Chapter 8: Order Meeting

A/N: Hey, I miraculously found the time to post two chapters today! YAY! I still don't know if I like this chapter…but oh well. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 8: The Order Meeting**

James Potter and Sirius Black appropriated into Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius shuddered.

"I hate this place." He muttered. James nodded absently and sat down at the table.

"SIRIUS BLACK IS THAT YOU?! YOU'RE BACK IN THIS HOUSE? GET OUT OF HERE NOW! I WILL NOT TOLERATE A BLOOD TRAITER HERE!"

"Love ya too Mom." Sirius muttered sarcastically and began setting things up for the order meeting.

James sat at the table, saying nothing and placed his head in his hands.

Sirius stopped trying to straighten the place and watched his friend who was more like a brother to him. James had a look of deep sadness on his face that came from the loss of a child. Sirius knew how he felt because he helped to raise Harry and often thought of him as his own kid when James and Lily asked him to baby-sit. Someone had to stay strong and keep James from doing anything stupid. Usually, Lily took that role, but he knew she wouldn't be able to do so and Remus was always too emotional to take up this new role. That only left him. The goofball. The screw-up as his mother had a point of reminding him all the time before and even after her death.

"Prongs.."

"Don't say it Padfoot." James said his voice full of depression. Sirius hated to see his friend this way. The only time he had came close was when Lily had dated a Ravenclaw in third year.

"Harry wouldn't want you to give up."

"How do you know Padfoot? Heck, two days ago was going to be the first time I saw him in…" James stopped and looked down at the table. "I was a bad dad." James aid and Sirius sighed.

"No, you were never a bad dad." Sirius said.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better. It's easy for you to say Padfoot, Harry liked you."

"That's because I wasn't the one who had to enforce discipline." Sirius said a slight smile on his face. James shook his head.

"James, no matter how often you think that Harry didn't need you, didn't want you around, you're wrong. I'm just second best." Sirius said, knowing the truth behind the words.

"There's just so much I wish I could change."

"Wasn't t you who told me not to live always thinking what if? Well James, what if I never made you switch secret keepers that night? What if Voldemort would have succeeded in killing the three of you that night? What if I didn't make it into Gryffindor? What if I would not have listened to you and dyed Snapes hair hot pink instead of gold in second year? (James smiled at the memory) What if—"

"Ok, I got it. I get the point." James said, and the two marauders shared a short laugh at the thought of seeing Snape's slimy hair glowing bright gold for weeks.

"We got into so much trouble over that one." James said a far away look on his face. "I wish things could be that simple again."

"Arg, I don't. I never want to hear you whine about Lily not giving you the time of day again." James made a face at him and Sirius added "But it was all worth it."

The two friends sat in silence for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

"I miss him." James said after a moment, breaking the silence.

"Of course we will. But we can't-"

The door opened then and in walked Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore.

"SIRIUS BLACK! YOU AND YOU'RE FRIENDS LEAVE THIS HOUSE NOW! YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"

Sirius looked annoyed and left the room, saying "I'll be back."

James looked back down at the table again, thinking about how if Harry was still alive they would not be having this meeting right now and he felt his heart ache.

"James, I am sorry for your loss." McGonagall said, and James just nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Sometimes, great people come from great memories." Dumbledore said and James looked up at him, confused. Before he could question Dumbledore about the comment, the rest of the order members began to file in, each giving James their condolences and asked about Lily.

Sirius came back down minutes later, looking pleased with himself.

"Padfoot…what did you do?"

"Won't hafta worry about Mother Dearest anymore." He said, too excitedly.

"What did you do?" James asked.

"Axe met mother." Was all Sirius said.

"Kretcher will have a fit." James commented.

"And I'll give him one of mother's old stinky socks to remember her by."

James smirked and the Order members all took a seat, at the table. One seat remained open next to Sirius, where Remus usually sat, but it was a full moon so he could not make it.

After everyone was seated and Dumbledore called the meeting to begin, Snape walked in and Sirius glared at him.

James ignored them, not wanting to deal with Snivelous's comments today, or Sirius's antics for that matter. Sadly, the only empty seat was next to Sirius and Snape sat down next to him, glaring at the marauders.

Dumbledore asked if anyone had anything discuss before they talked about what to do next.

"I believe Voldemort has something big planned." Snape said.

"No shit Sherlock. Anyone could have told us that." Sirius muttered and Snape glared at him. Sirius made a face back at him and Dumbledore coughed to interrupt, knowing they would go on all day if the could.

"What do you mean Severus?" McGonagall asked.

"Voldemort called a meeting earlier. I was late because of a staff meeting but they kept referring to 'the boy'."

"Do you know who or what they are talking about?" McGonagall asked.

"No. Not many do. I tried to find the information out, but either they do not know or they won't tell me." Snape said.

"Keep trying to find out." Dumbledore stated and Snape nodded.

"Of course." He said, looking pointedly at Sirius and James could have sworn he heard a low growl come from him. He quickly elbowed him in the side to make him stop and the meeting continued without too many more problems.

The main point I wanted to get across here was to address the fact Snape knew something is going on and they have no clue. I also wanted to get other characters reactions, which was the whole point of Sirius and James's talk in the beginning. I hope it worked ok for everyone else. It just seemed like something that fit at the time…anywho, I hope you like and Please Review! Comments are always helpful.

Let me know if there's a character you want to get a reaction from or if you want to see how events are going outside of Harry's world. The next few chapters are going to be more and more Harry oriented, so if it would help to know what's going on with the other characters, let me know. I do have an idea for Ron and Hermione later but that's not for another two or three chapter after what I already have wrote (I think I'm now half way through chap 13..)

Anywho, enough about my ramblings, if you actually read this, I applaud you. I like rambling, as I'm doing now but I'm bored out of my mind and need to work on my original story or else I will not live to be able to finish this story :o

I'll try and post another chap or two tomorrow. Hope You Enjoyed. I'm done now, really.


	10. Chapter 9: Friends?

**A/N:** Hey guys, I'm back again, though it seems I should be saying Hey to just s.b. who seems to be the only one still reviewing…but oh well. Onto the next chapter, which this whole idea in this chapter kinda made me mad, but I have such a good idea with it so it had to stay. You'll all probably hate me as much as I hate myself. LOL Enjoy!

**Stellablu: **lol! It just so happens I mention the muggle attacks in this chapter. I thought that was kinda ironic…but anywho, glad you like it.

**Chapter 9: Friends?!**

Draco Malfoy sat in his bedroom on the second floor of his father's mansion. He was seated in a window seat (I really don't know if his room really _does_ have a window seat…but they live in a mansion, so they can have a window seat!), staring out at the grounds. The mansion was surrounded by trees. The property itself was basically level with bright green grass. There were several house elves working outside, doing whatever it was that they did.

He was bored. To put it lightly. He was always bored during the summer months. There was hardly anything to do, which was ironic as his family had everything and there was nothing to do that he had not done before. His friends were all on holidays with their families, leaving him alone inside the mansion. Though he was never really alone, as the mansion was always filled with house elves, it felt like he lived in isolation.

Malfoy got up from his window seat and crossed the huge room to the door. He opened the large heavy wooden door and stepped into the hallway. He made his way to the spiral staircase, kicking any house elf that got in his way. He stopped on the first floor, making his way into the dining room. When he entered, he saw his father sitting at the table, reading the Daily Prophet, the ever present smirk on his face even more evident than usual.

Malfoy crossed the room to his father's side. Interested in what had him so amused.

"Have you seen this yet?" His father asked, indicating the paper in his hand. Malfoy recognized it as the paper from yesterday and shook his head. He had briefly glanced at it, but he wasn't really all that interested in reading up on the most recent muggle attacks or killings of the mudbloods. They all were the same, to some extent that once you read one, you've read them all. The only thing that changes are the names and what the ministry has to say about it.

His father handed him the paper, and Draco stared at him a moment before scanning the article headlines.

_More Death Eater Attacks, Chudley Cannons Win Quiddich Match, Minister's Comments on Muggle Attacks…_Draco looked at his father again.

"I don't see anything that would make you this…ecstatic father." Malfoy said.

"Keep reading." Was all his father said, taking a drink from his crystal glass.

Malfoy sighed and continued to look at the headlines. He skimmed through it, still wondering why this was so important his father couldn't just tell him. Then, he saw it.

_Harry Potter Killed In Attack. _

"So, the rumors were true. They finally got rid of Potter." Draco said a satisfied look on his face.

"That's just the thing! They didn't!" Lucius said, sounding more joyous than Draco ever remembered hearing him sound.

"Father, you are _not _making any sense."

"The Dark Lord has him."

"So, he will be dead then?"

"NO, see, that's the beauty of it. That was the plan, mind you. Slow, painful death, hoping to get Dumbledore and the other Potters to do something stupid like come after him, but no. This is so much better."

"You're rambling." Draco said, still having no idea what his father was trying to say. _Is he trying to say that Potter is still alive? And will remain alive?_

"Potter has no memory!"

"Father, a simple memory charm could have done just that."  
"I know, that's the beauty of it. It wasn't a memory charm. I don't know why we didn't think of it before. I mean, it was always right in front of us. It will be almost too easy. Poetic even. He cannot remember a thing. We can easily turn him into one of us."

"And how would we do that?" Malfoy asked. His father gave him a look, and smacked him lightly on the back of the head.

"Think about it, Draco. You are not that dumb. We get him to trust us. Get him to join the cause, willingly, mind you. If he gets associated in the attacks against muggles, then he will not be able to return if and when he gets his memory back. He will be forced to stay with us. The plan is ingenious."

"I don't see Potter falling for it."

"That is where you come in."

"What? Me?"

"Yes, you. The young Potter needs a friend. You complain that you are bored so…"

"I will _NOT_ become…_MATES_ with Harry Potter!" Draco said, disgusted he own father would suggest such a thing.

"Draco, you will do this. He'll need someone to reassure him of things. I mean, what is a bunch of adults saying things? Sure, it might work for some time, but he will begin to question us. Someone his own age will-"

"Then pick someone else. I despise Potter."

"And you think I don't?" Lucius asked, looking annoyed.

Draco was silent for a moment. He loathed Harry Potter with every molecule in his body, and he was sure the feeling was mutual. Why should he have to become friends with him ever?

"I won't do it! I despise Potter and everything about him."

"If you want to join the cause some day then you have to learn to make sacrifices for the greater…good. Do you think I like the idea of having a Potter around? Do you think the Dark Lord likes him?!" Lucius demanded. "But we know having Harry Potter on our side is better, more…poetic, really, then to have him six feet under."

"Fine. But I will not be seen in public with…him."

"That is a reasonable request."

Draco scowled and left the room, loosing any appetite he may have just had and more annoyed then he ever felt possible.

_Friends with Potter. _He thought and shuddered. _This will be the worst summer ever. _

A/N

Hope you enjoyed! I really did not want to include Draco Malfoy in this story, because I really don't know how to write his character and every time he pops up, I end up re-writing the chapter three times because I either over-do the personality or under do it. I still think he's out of character for most of this story, but oh well. It's the best I can do. L Hope You enjoyed it and I look forward to seeing comments. I probably won't be able to post anything until Tuesday afternoon-evening. But who knows. I'll try and post tomorrow if I can.


	11. Chapter 10: Lost

**A/N: **yay! I picked up two reviewers! Even though one of them is a friend that I threatened to read and reviews...but hey, at least I have one more.

**Stella: **oops, I had meant to answer your James question last post…I had figured what you meant. I must have left a lot more out of the copied than I thought I did...hm, oh well. I didn't want to make the Potter's one big happy family as most authors do when they keep Lily and James alive. I wanted them to be not dysfunctional, but not perfect. James is an auror in my story and since the attacks are happening, he needs to be away more and more to help out with work. Hence, because he's not at home, his relationship with Harry kind of dwindled a bit and wasn't around as much as he wanted or needed to be. Does that make sense? Kind of a long-winded reply, but I needed to get that cleared out of the way instead of addressing it in a later chapter, which I probably will anyway J And to answer your second question: yes I will post with only one reviewer, but I would like to see more L I won't post anymore unless I can't or am absolutely stuck in the story. Which when that happens, I usually put it away for a day or two and go back to it on another day. J

**Darkone: **I knew it was you by the name. And yes, I do remember. Glad you like it and you better keep reading! I know where you sleep…

Anywho, onto the story!

**Chapter 10: Lost**

To put it simply, Harry was lost. There were hidden hallways and doors which led to another hallway and another and so on. In the time he had been walking, he had not run into a single person or thing. So, he continued, trying to figure out this labyrinth of hallways, rooms, and doors. He came to another dead end hallway and wanted to scream in frustration.

_Great. Just great. _He thought bitterly. _You got yourself lost_ _in an unknown place._ He felt ready to scream, to throw a tantrum a two year old would be impressed at, anything than just trying to figure out this maze.

_Think Harry, think. You got yourself here, you can get yourself out of here…_He told himself and took several deep breathes to calm himself and sooth the frustration and anger.

_OK, let's backtrack. _He reasoned, not very confidently. He began to try and retrace his steps, so he began by turning around and walking down the hall that led him to this dead end. He stopped where he thought he had come from. There were four different doors there and all looked the same. He paused, staring at them, trying to figure out any differences that may tell him what lay behind each one.

Harry could not decide which he came through, so he decided to try each door. Maybe there would be something on the other side that would look familiar to him. He reasoned. He reached out to the first door facing him He cautiously turned the handle and slowly opened the door, not knowing what to expect. He peered around the door and saw the room was almost empty. It had very limited furnishings and was just..plain. That was the only way to describe it. Harry was about to shut the door and move on when he felt something moving at his feet. He looked down.

"_Tttthhhhaannkssss"_ a voice said and Harry was shocked that it came from the small snake on the floor. To his knowledge, he knew snakes were not supposed to talk and that was about it. He had no inclination as to how to tell if this snake was poisonous or not.

"_You're Welcome."_ Harry said, wondering how on earth this snake was talking and how he somehow knew he could talk back to it.

The snake stared at him a moment longer and then slithered away as if Harry was not worth its time. Harry shrugged and closed the door. He stepped over to the one next to it and opened it. This room was what seemed to be a record keeping room. There were many scrolls on the shelves that lined the walls and a large table sat in the center. Scrolls were thrown on top of it that you could not make out the top of the desk.

"What are you doing?"

Harry spun around to see Lucius Malfoy standing there, looking like a cop who had just caught the thief red-handed.

"I got lost. I was trying to find my way back." Harry said and Lucius pulled him away and closed the door, looking at Harry disapprovingly.

"You should not wander around here. One could think you were trying to be noisy." Lucius said and closed the door.

"I just got lost." Harry stated again, wondering what the big deal was. People had to get lost all the time in this place.

"Come on, I'll help you find your way back." Lucius said, walking further down the hall. Harry sighed and followed him through the halls, making mental notes along the way.

"Oh, Harry, my son, Draco, is going to come and visit tomorrow."

"Are we friends?" Harry asked.

"Eh, more like…acquaintances. He heard about your condition and wanted to visit. He felt you needed a friend." Lucius said and Harry just nodded.

"Fine." He said in a whatever like voice and they walked through the maze of halls back to Harry's room.

Voldemort sat in a room that was designated as his own. He was seated in an armchair which was in the center of the dark room, facing the fireplace. All the lights were off and the only light was what cascaded from the fireplace. The room was silent. The only sounds were the popping and cracking of the fire burning. The light danced on the walls, creating light and darkness on the walls.

He was completely unmoving in his chair. Someone might have mistaken him for a statue or not even being there. He seemed to be calm. Almost meditative. The only thing that gave him away was the thin sheen of sweat on his face.

He concentrated on trying to get it, to take down the invisible barrier to the mind that everyone had. Some were very easy to access. Others were harder. This one was the hardest he had ever encountered and now was so much more difficult.

He imagined this invisible mind wall as just that; a wall made out of wood. He was usually able to take down this barrier by imagining he was removing the boards, one by one. These boards were held fast, stronger than any he had ever encountered.

Suddenly, he was cast away from the barrier. His eyes opened slowly and he was breathing deeply.

He was slightly intrigued by this finding. _The kid looses his memory and gains occlumency skills better than anyone. _He recognized the irony of the situation and laughed.

"My lord?" A death eater asked, and he had no idea what she wanted. But Voldemort knew he would give him something to do. Something only he would order.

"Send the death eaters out."

"Where?"  
"Do I ever care where? Just send them out. I want to see the headlines tomorrow saying something about mass destruction of the muggles!"

"Yes Milord." She said and left the room in a hurry. Forgetting to say what she had come to say. Malfoy walked in behind her.

"Ah, Lucius."

"My son has agreed to befriend Potter. He will be here tomorrow."

"Good." Voldemort commented.

"When were you going to start the training?"

"I was thinking tomorrow or the day after."

"Good." Malfoy said and frowned slightly.

"Having doubts Lucius?"

"I'm just wondering what is going to happen when he remembers."

"We've talked about this already." Voldemort said, sounding annoyed.

"I know. It's just…what happens if things don't go as planned? What will happen if he refuses to join us? What happens if he does and the wizarding world still accepts him because he's a Potter?" Lucius asked, knowing he might be punished for second guessing the dark lord.

"Hopefully, it does not come down to it."

"And if it does?"

"Then we go back to the original plan. Once they know Harry is still alive and if they want to accept the things I hope he will do…then Harry will still get us what we want. We'll still get everything, Potter's and that blasted Dumbledore out of the way."

Closing Notes:

I forgot to say earlier, I finally set up a date-line so I could figure out where I want certain events to take place and such. The beginning of the story starts when Hogwarts gets out, and I assume it is in June. I am using the first weekend in June as the end date since that's when most schools where I'm from get out. So the first couple of chapters take place on June 4th , Chapter 4-5 is on June 5th , Chap 6-7 is on June 7th , Chapter 8 is on June 7th, Chapter 9 is on the 8th along with chapter 10. For those who are wondering what kind of time frame all of this is taking place in. I did this for myself to keep things in order and keep track of events so I could get the desired out come not too soon or not too late. So, because I now know the dates and such, I begin to skip days. I figured out away to still fill in what happens to Harry on those days. (if there was something I think would be relevant, but I am pretty much sticking to what is needed to know.) Anywho, thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 11: The Meeting

**A/N: **Hey Guys! I'm really excited because I should be able to post a lot next week! J Because of the Thanksgiving Holiday, I only have school Monday and Tuesday so hopefully from Wednesday to Sunday I can post a few chaps for you! J

**Bookworm: **Thanks for reading

**Stella: **Glad you liked it

**DarkOne: **Thanks for R & R ing

And now, onto chapter 11, and if you're following the timeline I explained about in the last chapter, this takes place on June 9th.

**Chapter 11: The Meeting**

Harry stood by the mirror, studying his reflection. His dark hair was thick and untamable. No matter how hard he tried, it seemed to never cooperate and look neat. He had given up trying a few moments ago and that's when he started studying himself.

His eyes were an emerald green that were hidden behind thick glasses. On his forehead, there was a lightning bolt shaped scar, and he realized that is where all of his headaches seemed to come from.

He turned away from the mirror, his plain black robes swishing as he walked. He sat down on his bed and picked up the book of spells he was reading. He found he was actually very good at it. They came to him easily without too much practice.

There was a knock on the door and Harry sighed. _My so called friend must be here. _He thought, getting up from his seat and crossing to the door.

He opened it and saw a boy standing there, probably about his age. It was obvious he was a Malfoy. He had the same bleach blonde hair as his father and a similar smirk on his face.

"Hi." Harry greeted, feeling awkward.

"Hi, I'm sure you don't remember me, but I'm Draco Malfoy." He introduced.

"Your dad says we know each other?" Harry asked, letting Draco enter the room.

"We knew each other, just not very well." He stated and shrugged, taking a look around the room.

"Oh. Do you know anyone who knows me then? If we kind of knew each other, then you must have an idea who my _actual _friends are." Harry stated pointedly at him.

"Oh, well I don't think that would be a good idea." Draco said, and Harry had a suspicion he was searching his brain for an excuse.

"Why not?" Harry asked, playing along with the game.

"Well, it would be hard for them. Don't you think? I mean, they remember you and you don't remember them. They would probably bring up old jokes and things you don't remember and then you'll probably feel bad because they have to explain it to you." Draco stated and Harry thought, maybe for a moment, he had a point. _But if they're true friends, it would not matter. _

"So, how's your summer?" Harry asked, changing the subject. So far he did not care much for Draco Malfoy, and he thought maybe that is why they don't 'know each other well.'

"Eh, it's been ok. Been quiet around the house. What have you been up to?" Draco asked, and Harry felt that the conversation seemed to be forced between them.

"Been keeping myself busy. I heard I am a wizard and there were some books in here and I started reviewing things…nothing exciting." Harry said and sat down on his bed.

"Starting to sound like Gran" Draco muttered and stopped quickly.

"What did you say?" Harry asked, he didn't completely catch what he said.

"I said 'sounds exciting'." Draco said, and Harry looked at him uncertainly. There seemed to be something…off about Draco that Harry could not quite place. He also sensed that he was keeping things from him, but surprise surprise, everyone else was.

"What's the big secret?" Harry asked, not even knowing he had said it aloud. Malfoy looked up at him, puzzled.

"I know there is something everyone is hiding from me. If you were any kind of friend, you would tell me what." Harry stated bluntly.

"I don't know what you're-"  
"Don't lie to me! I know you are. Everyone is overly polite and has a slight hint of forced sincerity. You have it to."

Draco was silent for a moment. _Probably thinking up another lie. _He told himself.

"It's just, weird, ya know? Trying to come up with conversation topics that-"

"If you were really my friend, then conversation topics would come natural."

"And they say you have no memory."  
"I'm not stupid. I know what I know." Harry stated simply.

"The truth is, we were never really that close. More like…barely acquaintances. My dad told me about your…condition, and I thought having someone around your own age would help." Draco said and added "if you don't want me here, I'll leave."

"Thank you." Harry said, referring to Malfoy telling him the truth.

Draco looked to the floor, as if he was ashamed of something.

"Yeah, well…" the door opened and Malfoy Sr. stepped into the room.

"Ah, I see you have met my son." Lucius said, looking at the two boys.

_Oh yeah, real pleasure he is. _Harry thought.

"Hi dad." Malfoy said, looking back up from the floor, his voice sounding almost sarcastic.

"Sorry to interrupt, but _he _wants to see you, Harry." Lucius stated.

Harry rolled his eyes. He really wanted to know 'He''s name. Harry only heard people refer to him as 'him, he, the lord, the dark lord, my lord,' and once 'he-who-must-not-be-named.' Whatever that meant.

"Fine." Harry said and they all left the room.

"See ya around." Draco said and left the other way down the hallway.

Harry silently wondered if the kid would tell him how to get out of here. Lucius pulled him from his thoughts and led him down the hall the opposite way Draco was headed.


	13. Chapter 12: Thoughts and Memories

**A/N: **Gr, I really hate writing fanfics! Nothing against them, but it's just so hard to work with characters that are not yours to begin with. sigh And here I go, filling up 80 pages of my notebook with a half completed story and ideas still wrote in the margins for it! Anywho, enough of the rant, even though I decided that tomorrow any time I have before work I am dedicating to my originals because I have not touched them much since I started this stupid fanfic! There maybe another post tomorrow, depends on how I feel tomorrow morning, but I have people who want this story added to, and other who want one or the other of the original stories…who knows. I'll probably post again tomorrow. On a separate note, got HP 3 today (the movie, being it came out today in America) it's quiet amusing to see the looks people give you when you show up to a store at one o'clock pm (when you are a high schooler and generally don't get out of school until 2ish so that would place you at stores around 2:30-3ish depending on traffic). I am a lucky person who gets to leave a hour early and go to 'work' but I have the day off so I spent all afternoon watching Harry Potter J. I hafta say, I do not picture Remus like the Remus in the movie. I don't know, I know he's supposed to be kinda raggedy looking, but that Remus looked too well dressed for me and I don't picture him with facial hair either…oh well. Whatever. That's my main complaint besides cutting info…but anywho, enough about my absent ramblings and onto why we are all here…

**Bookworm**: Thanks for the review and have a Happy Thanksgiving, being I don't think I said that to ya at lunch… L

**Stella: **Glad you really enjoy it. I'm finally at a good part in the story (the part I've been working feverishly to get to woops) so expect some good things happening around chapter 20, but I would have to say, chapter 15 and 16 are my favs. J So far.

**Chapter 12: Thoughts/Memories**

Harry walked back into his room, exhausted from the training session. He trudged to the bed and fell back on it, staring up at the high ceiling. He was physically exhausted, but his mind was wide awake, cataloging everything he had learned and storing it for later use. He was surprised on how much he already knew and retained from studying the books. Everything he had read about he had somehow found a use for it, and what surprised him even more was that he found he was shouting out spells he didn't even consciously know. Somehow, he had tapped into his old knowledge. He didn't think about what he had said, or did, it was almost as if his mind was on autopilot and his subconscious took over.

He had hoped that maybe since he had tapped into his magic knowledge that he might be able to remember his life. The real people that mattered, a few memories, anything. But no, the only things he had were a couple of partial memories that meant absolutely nothing along with the knowledge that he was in fact a good wizard. He could tell that Tom (the name his 'mentor' finally gave him) himself was even surprised. That had left him perplexed though. If Tom was his mentor, teacher, or whatever, he would have some knowledge as to what he did and did not know. But, then again, maybe he was surprised on how much he remembered.

He smiled to himself, pleased yet slightly disappointed at the same time and sat up. He was too wired to just lay there thinking and doing nothing. He looked at the desk, that he was sure wasn't there earlier and stepped over to it. It had pieces of loose parchment lying in a neat stack with a quill pen and ink laying to the right of the paper. The chair pulled up to it had a high back and matched the wooden color of the desk. It had two desk drawers which he found were empty besides the extra bundles of parchment and ink.

He sat down at the desk, pulling the chair back slightly and sat down. He picked up the pen and saw there was a calendar sitting to the left of the parchment. The days were checked off and if it was accurate, then the calendar proclaimed today is June the ninth.

Harry looked at the paper and began writing. He knew what he had to do. He began to write out a list of things that happened to him or remembered to try and keep things in perspective.

Falling; had to do with 'accident'? (remembered when woke up) Brown/Bushy hair (remembered when woke up) Distaste for the word 'Slytherin' (a few days ago?) House elves (?) Sitting next to 'her' at the large table in the great hall; Gryffindor Patch (?) Talking Snakes? (yesterday) Spells I did not read about (today, 6/9) 'Met' Draco Malfoy (today, 6/9) 

Harry read over the list and frowned slightly. He found it pathetic that his life could only be summed up to eight events so far. Most weren't even memories, just facts that felt…odd. Like the talking snakes, for instance. Snakes are not supposed to talk. That much he knew. Yet, he had found himself talking to one. He sighed. He had thought the list would help gain perspective, but it only made things look more pathetic.

_Maybe I can get Malfoy to tell me something. _Harry thought. _For some reason though, I feel that will be very unlikely. _

He felt frustrated all over again. He hated being confined to this stupid room.

_Why can't I leave? It's almost like…_His thoughts paused for a moment and then he added aloud "like they want to keep me hidden." _But for what? _Harry knew if he wanted these answers, he would probably have to cooperate with these people. But what exactly did that mean in the long run? A voice in the back of his mind asked. _Stop it! I want answers and if that is the only way to get them, then I say let's go for it. _Harry thought and the voice stayed silent for a moment and Harry felt satisfied with himself.

_ But at what cost? _It retorted and then all was silent. Harry admitted, that question left him stumped. He knew, he _hoped_ anyway, that he knew when to stop. When to draw the line, otherwise, he would have no hope for finding out whom he was or the other answers to his questions.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: **

**(For those trying to keep tabs on days: it is three days later so it is now June the 12th) **

There was three sharp knocks on the door that interrupted Harry's reading.

"Come in." He called and marked his page by folding the corner over and closed the book, setting it down on the bed next to him as the door opened and revealed Draco Malfoy.

"Hello" Harry greeted. Wondering if the other boy really wanted to be here.

"Hi, how was your weekend?" Draco asked, closing the door behind him. If Harry didn't know any better, Malfoy would have come off as sounding sincere. Harry shrugged.

"Boring." He answered and added "They keep me shut up in this room as if to hide me from the world." Harry watched as Malfoy looked away and stared at the floor for a minute.

"I'm sure that's not why." He finally stated. Harry shrugged slightly in a dismissive gesture.

"So, what's there to do around here?" Draco asked, changing the subject.

"You're asking me?" I've been passing my time reading books."

"There has to be something." Malfoy concluded, and Harry looked at him skeptically.

"Know how to play chess?" He asked.

"You're asking the wrong person." Harry stated with a slight laugh.

"Err, sorry. I guess the appropriate question would be, do you want to find out if you know how to play chess?"

"Why not. I haven't seen any chess-"

"Oh, I brought my portable set." Draco answered. "I figured they probably didn't have one around here or you wouldn't know even if they did." Malfoy said and took a small, thick square out of his pocket and unfolded it to a full size chess board and pieces on the bed between the two.

"Cool." Harry said, looking impressed.

"Yeah" Malfoy said tiredly.

They set the board up and Malfoy quickly explained what each piece did and how it moved, and whatever else there was to know about how to play chess. Harry found he actually did know how to play chess and was ok at the game.

Hermione sat in the Potter's home, watching everyone around her. She was wearing her dress robes so she fit in with everyone else. She hadn't seen many of the people she knew yet; besides the adults who all offered their condolences to Lily and James and then stood around talking.

She sat on the sofa, lost in her thoughts. _I know Harry's alive. He has to be. But if he was alive, how come he did not try and contact me, his parents, Ron, Sirius, Remus, anyone? Maybe he's hurt. _She reasoned. _Or maybe, he's really gone and you have to face that fact. _

"Hey." Hermione looked up and saw her friend, Ronald Weasly standing there. His red hair was brushed neatly and he wore the same dress robes he always wore.

"Hi." Hermione greeted and Ron sat down next to her. "It's hard to believe we're sitting here, saying goodbye to a friend." She said, and looked down at the floor.

"Yeah." Ron said and looked over at her. "With all the things we've been thought, it seems…"

"Surreal?" Hermione finished, and Ron looked back at her puzzled momentarily.

"Yeah, I guess." He answered. They sat in silence for a moment. Almost everyone was there now; even the people that barely knew Harry. It made Hermione seethe in anger to no end. What right did they have to be here?

"They're going to start." Another voice said and Hermione looked up to see Mrs. Weasly standing there. She nodded, slightly wondering when she approached them and stood up from her seat, straightening and smoothing down her robes. Ron also stood up and they made their way through the home to the backyard where the memorial service will take place.


	15. Chapter 14: Missing

**A/N:** I just want to say that I love this chapter. I also want to state that I do not own the song Missing. It belongs to the band Evanescence and Amy Lee. Also noting, because I don't think I did it at all, I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. I do own only those characters you do not recognize (Destany, who you will see in this chapter, is one of the one's I own, and I believe that is the only one anyway). Now, if you by any chance HAVE the origins cd Evanescence released, I recommend reading this chapter with Missing playing in the background after the dream sequence and during the dream sequence play Fields of Innocence. I had those songs stuck in my mind when I wrote it. I did insert part of the lyrics, if you want to read more, let me know and I'll link you to a lyrics site I found them on.

**Chapter 14: Missing (still June 12)**

Dream Sequence

It was a warm spring day. The sky was perfect light blue with a few fluffy white clouds dotting the sky. The sun was warm on the child, but he didn't care. He was free to roam outside and all that mattered to him was in that moment.

To the three year old, the world was as large as the whole universe was to a single star. A time when society's demands do not easily affect the happiness of a child. Young and ignorant to what is going on around him in the world. All that mattered was the sun on his skin and the wind on his face.

"Harry," A female voice called. The voice was as familiar to him as the sky being blue and the grass being green.

He turned and watched as she approached. He red hair shined as the sun hit on it. She had bright emerald green eyes and a smile on her face.

"Mommy?"

End of Sequence

Harry woke up from the dream. He hadn't even remembered falling asleep. Draco had left a short while ago and he had gone back to his book. He sat up on his bed and yawned. He automatically reached to the bedside table for his glasses and realized he had slept with them on.

He got out of the bed and stretched, pulling himself out of the post sleep fog. He went to the mirror in the bathroom to try and tame his wild hair which was even wilder than normal from sleep. He silently cursed whoever gave him is hair. If that woman in his dream really was his mother, than that would probably mean he should thank his father next time he saw him. If he saw him. Harry frowned slightly and shook his head. _I can't think about this now. _Harry thought and went to leave the room. After all, Tom had given him permission to roam the house if he wanted. And now, he was determined to do so. He was sick of being in that room.

He stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him. He began just walking aimlessly and found that the place really wasn't as big as he once thought. It just was gave an illusion of greatness with so many hidden hallways. As he found a new wing, he heard a voice quietly humming, almost as if it was the melody of a song. He strained his ears to figure out where the humming was coming from. He was able to determine it was female. He then heard the voice begin to sing.

"…and barely conscious you'll say to no one

Isn't something missing?

Isn't someone missing me?"

Harry figured out where the voice was coming from and paused outside the door, listening to the lyrics the girl sang.

"You won't cry for my absence I know-

You forgot me long ago.

Am I that unimportant…?

Am I so insignificant?

Isn't something missing?

Isn't someone missing me?

Even thought I'd be sacrificed,

You won't cry for me not now.

Though I'd die to know you love me,

I'm all alone…

Isn't someone missing me?"

Harry opened the door and saw her. She was short and had her back turned to him. She had long medium brown hair that waved slightly. She turned around, her hair whipping around her as if it were tracing her aura. She had dark blue eyes that reminded him of the ocean on a stormy day.

"What are you doing?" She demanded. "You don't just…sneak up on someone." Harry noticed her accent was different from everyone else. Everyone around here seemed to have the same kind of accent. Hers was different. He didn't know how to describe it, but she rushed her words more and was slightly louder.

"I'm sorry. I just heard you singing and"

"And you thought you'd scare the begezus out of me?"

"NO. You sing beautifully." Harry commented.

"No I don't." She insisted, blushing slightly. "That was way off key."

"It sounded great to me. Better than I could do." He said. She gave him a small smile.

"Well, I don't think we've ever been introduced." She said and held out her hand "My name is Destany. Most people call me Des or Dessie, for short."

Harry stared at her outstretched hand for a second and took it, not really knowing what to expect and said "I'm Harry." He noticed she shook his hand and let go, looking at him oddly.

"Where you afraid I'm going to bite?" Destany asked.

"No, it's just that"

"That you don't like touching people?" She asked.

"NO! I'm sorry; I didn't really know what you wanted. I have amnesia."

"Very likely excuse. Like I haven't heard that line before. 'Gee, I have amnesia and can't remember my phone number…can I have yours?'" She mimicked, rolling her eyes.

"NO, I seriously have amnesia." Harry said. She stopped and studied him for a moment and he saw her eyes widen.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry" She said, and added "I thought for a second that"

"I was attempting to make a pass?" Harry finished.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything if I did." She said, sounding generally sincere.

"No, it's refreshing to have someone who doesn't really know everything about me." Harry said, and she smiled. "By the way, that song you sang earlier, did you write it?" Harry asked.

"No I didn't write it. Amy Lee did."

"Amy Lee?"

"Yeah, she's the lead singer and song writer for the rock band Evanescence. It just describes how I feel a lot." She admitted and Harry nodded in understanding.

"So, how did you end up here?" Destany asked and added quickly "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"No, it's ok. Your song captured my thoughts exactly. I don't really know how I got here. I'm told that I was in an accident and the result was my memory was somehow temporarily forgotten."

"Hm." She said, looking skeptical.

"What?"

"Nothing. Forget it." She said.

"So, what's your story? How'd you end up here?"

"The full text version or the summary?" She asked.

"How about whatever you want to share." Harry said, and she sighted.

"OK, well I was born in America, and I assume I had American parents. I'm told I was put up for adoption not even a year after my birth. I was in and out of foster homes for most of my life. When I was eight, I was actually adopted by a woman. She was excited to have me because she couldn't have children and I was like her daughter she could never have. It was a good time. But two years later, she and her fiancé were killed in a car accident. I was there with them and I walked away practically unscathed. She had a sister and I have been living with them since. "Destany explained.

"So, you're not in on any of this wizard stuff?"

"I don't know. I never received the letter, but then again, I moved around so often, they probably didn't know where to reach me." Destany answered.

"I'm sorry." Harry said, feeling bad for the girl. She shrugged.

"Don't be." She answered. "You get used to it."

Harry took a moment to study her fully. Facing him, the blue eyes had a hint of sadness behind them. He understood what it was. It was from the loss and the pain. He noticed she was not dressed in the robes that everyone else wore. She wore black baggy cargo pants and black shoes which he suspected were a sort of boot with a heel to add a couple of inches to her height. She wore a black sweatshirt with hamsters on it in hamster balls that said 'Rollin with Tha Homies' on it. He suspected that her tough attitude was a defense mechanism. The same with her earlier sarcasm.

"What, do I have something sprouting from my head?" She asked, her hands going up and running over the top of her head.

"Oh, sorry, no." He said, and felt sheepish. "So, what is there to do around here?" Harry asked.

"To tell you the truth, not a lot. But I'm sure we could stir up some trouble if you wanted to." She stated.

"I just wanted to check the place out." Harry admitted. Destany frowned for a moment. Then she looked up, her face brightly lit as a light bulb.

"I know jus the thing. Come on!" She encouraged and the two left the room, Destany leading the way.


	16. Chapter 15: Sunset

**A/N: **Re-reading this chapter, I realize that it seems…romantic almost (the situation) between Harry and Destany. I just want to say for the record: I am a Harry and Hermione shipper. Always have been, always will be and I will not get Destany and Harry together. I created Destany to give Harry a friend so I did not have to put up with Malfoy; I find his character difficult to write. I would also like to note: I am currently writing chapter 20. I finally got to the 'good part' and I hope the next couple of chapters leading up to it are not too lame. They were kind of a way to waste time. I had this time line of events on the dates I wanted them to happen on or around and I finally gave up and bumped up my timeline because I was running out of ideas for chapters lol.

**Stella: **I hope you didn't figure the next few chapters out…that'll make my job too easy J ;) Hope you enjoy this chapter

And now, onto the story!

**Chapter 15: **

"Wow." Harry said, looking out at the view. They had left the building and walked through the woods for what seemed like an eternity. But the walk Destany led him on was worth the view that was displayed through the parting trees. The trees had ended just before a cliff which jutted out over a lake.

It was a calm night. The water barely moved and the sky was in the middle of a perfect sunset. The golden sun was half hidden by the horizon which created glittering light on the top of the water, making it seem as if it moved when it was perfectly still. The sky was in colors of blue, gold, red, and orange and had no clouds in view.

"I know. It's beautiful. I come out here almost every night, just to watch the sunset." Destany commented, her voice sounding far away.

The new found friends sat down at the edge of the cliff, feet dangling over the edge, just watching the sunset. There were no sounds except for the occasional hoot or howl. Once in awhile, a rustling of tree leaves, but then all would be silent. It seemed that here, at the cliff, time itself stood still. There was no confusing thoughts, no worries, absolutely no thought of the outside world. It was as if civilization itself did not exist and if it did exist, it didn't matter here. The outside world was not able to see or intrude on this moment.

_I wonder if this is how the ancient people felt every night. _Harry thought. All he knew was that he did not want to leave this place. All expectations of him were gone, all the secrets, the frustration, the truths which he thought maybe lies, none of it mattered. As if he had stepped into an alternate universe were these problems did not even exist.

He watched as the last sliver of sun disappeared behind its nightly hiding place and looked back up at the sky. It was now a dark velvety blue towards the top and got lighter as it approached the horizon which still glowed from the suns lasting light until it finally gave in and changed to the same velvety blue as the rest of the sky. The stars had begun to show and the half moon shone brightly in the sky.

Destany sighed and stood up, stretching her arms over her head.

"I know why you come out here. It's not only beautiful, it's as if the whole world just…"

"Slips away." Destany finished, and they smiled briefly at each other. "Come on, we have to get out of here now or we'll never find our way through the woods." Destany added and she started to walk back into the trees. Harry stood and took another glance at the horizon and followed her reluctantly back to reality.

At The Same Time

Hermione sat outside the Potter home. The memorial service had ended and most of the guests had left already or were inside. She sat on the soft green earth in the middle of the spacious yard, watching the sunset. It was beautiful. One of the best she had seen in a long time. She felt a pang in her heart as she watched it.

_ I hope wherever Harry is right now, dead or alive, he can see this magnificent display of natural color. _She thought. She found the tranquil-ness of each sunset fascinating. No matter what problem you had, watching the sunset, it was as if it did not exist during that time. For those moments, the pain and confusion end, only to re-appear when the darkness falls along with the dreams. She heard the back door slam shut and did not turn to see who it was. She knew it wouldn't be the one person she wished it was the most. The one person she needed to see. The footsteps approached her slowly, as if unsure and came to a stop next to her. The person then sat down.

"Hey." Hermione turned and looked into the concerned eyes of Ginny Weasly.

"Hi." Hermione said, glancing back up at the sun painted sky.

"It's beautiful." Ginny commented. Hermione nodded. "Are you ok?" She asked, and Hermione turned to look her friend in the eyes, surprised at the amount of concern she found there.

"Saying no would be lying. I just miss him Ginny. I keep expecting him to walk out that door any second. Or any time I receive an owl, I hope that it is him telling me he's ok and he's trying to come back to us." Hermione said, and Ginny looked back at her sympathetically.

"We all do Hermione. But…I just worry about you." She said.

"I'll be fine." Hermione insisted, trying to convince herself more than Ginny.

"Why don't you come stay with us for a couple of weeks? We could have some fun and get our supplies for school." Ginny suggested, hoping she would agree.

"I don't know. I'll have to ask." Hermione said, knowing being with her friends would probably help, but she didn't know if she could.

Ginny nodded in understanding and Hermione looked back up at the sky. The sun was already down and the darkness was beginning to creep over. _Is that what's going to happen now? _She wondered. _While everyone fighting for good is mourning; is Voldemort going to make his move? _Ginny shivered next to her and Hermione noticed that the air was seemingly colder.

"Come on, let's go inside." She said and the two girls stood up and walked back into the house to get warm.


	17. Chapter 16: Progress

**A/N: **Hi again. I'm sorry it's been awhile since this post, but with school, work and Christmas approaching, I'm getting busier and busier! L Sadly, I have to report that I probably will not get much of a chance to post this next week. I realized that I have only a week until my ACT test and I need to review stuff for it. When my mind becomes a mush of cramming, I'll probably post for a break. I'm happy to announce though that the story is moving along beautifully. I am currently writing chapter 24 and the plot is just unfolding, though I do have a couple of options I still need to weigh. It's looking as if it's going to end around the 30's, maybe early 40's. It all depends on if I add another plot twist and such. J

**Stella: **Glad to know I'm still needed ;)

And onto the next chapter!

**Chapter 16: Progress**

**June 16th**

"The boy is coming along well. I hope to get him in a raid within the next couple of weeks." The Dark Lord said, looking out at his faithful death eaters who were present at the meeting.

The Dark Lord scanned the faces looking up at him. There was Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Wormtail-otherwise known as Peter Pettigrew, MacNair, Goyle, Crabbe, Nott, Bertha Jorkins, and several others. He frowned.

"Where is Severus Snape?" He demanded.

"Master, he is not here." Wormtail stated.

"Why thank you for stating the obvious. Now can any of you tell me where Severus is?" He demanded.

There was silence among the death eaters. Some stared at the floor as if they were being made invisible by such an action. Others stared at the wall behind him, hoping he didn't notice their fear. Then there were the one's who looked confidently at him and stood silent, knowing it was probably best to do so than give him a reason to get angry with them.

The doors swung open and Snape strolled in.

"Severus, this is the fourth consecutive meeting you have been late for." The dark lord noted.

"I'm sorry, My Lord, but…the headmaster is also calling meetings. I felt it was of more use to be there-"

"Oh, you felt did you?" Voldemort demanded, feeling rather annoyed. "You know Severus, if I did not know better; I would question your loyalty."

Snape said nothing and other watched with interest, wondering if this was Snape's last 'betrayal'.

"Since you came from a meeting, I hope you have information for me." Snape nodded and fed him the information he and Dumbledore had made up before he left the meeting which was what made him late. He had taken out the real memories of the meeting and left them in a pensive incase his false memories brought upon any suspicion.

"Very well Severus. That will be all."

Snape nodded again and stood back into the group as Voldemort continued to drone on to the next topic of discussion.

Harry sat in his room, updating his list of memories and events that had happened to him over the last couple of days.

9. Chess with Malfoy, found out I actually remembered what the pieces did as Malfoy explained them (June 12)

10. The dream of me as a young child. Probably 3-4 years old. Saw 'Mom' (?) Has read hair and same color eyes as me (June 12)

11. Met Destany 'First real' friend here (June 12)

12. Overheard something about attacks on 'Muggles and Mudbloods'. Have to remember to ask Draco what that's about (June 13)

13. Destany gave me a full tour of the place (June 14)

14. Saw a small golden 'bug' in my dream. It moved incredibly fast and for some reason, I was chasing it on a broom (?) (June 15)

Which now led him to today. He put the pen down and sighed. Destany had mentioned yesterday about going into the small town which lay a mile or so away from the house they both spent way too much time in. He wasn't sure they should go though. It seemed as if no one really _wanted_ him to go anywhere.

_Isn't that what'll make it all worth while? _That familiar voice taunted. Before Harry could argue with it, the door opened and he looked up to see Destany standing there. She wore a pair of black jeans and a black shirt that had flames coming up from the bottom and leaves. She wore the same black shoes as she wore before.

"Don't you have normal clothes?" Destany asked, looking at his robes. "If we're going to go into town…"  
"I think so." Harry said and dug in the dresser for his jeans and t-shirt he had worn when he woke up here. He pulled them out and went to the bathroom to change. Harry stepped out and into the room and Destany grinned at him, her white teeth perfect.

"That's better." She said and Harry could feel himself beginning to blush.

"Thanks." He said and looked back up at her.

"I know you said you aren't apart of the wizard stuff, but I overheard something about attacks on 'muggles' what's that all about?" Harry asked, not knowing if Destany would know the answer to his question or not.

She shrugged. "My foster parents don't tell me anything." She answered apologetically.

"It's ok. I'll find out from someone else..I think." He said.

"So, you ready to go?" Destany asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I guess. I wanted to do something before we enter the village though. If someone would be there who would recognize us.."

"We'd be in so much trouble. I know." Destany said, grinning wildly. "That's what makes it almost adventurous."

"Yeah, but I could make it so we wouldn't be caught that easily." Harry said and added "I think."

"What do you mean?" She asked and Harry pulled out his wand.

"When we leave, I want to change our eye colors. I read how to do it in a book. It'll make it harder to recognize us." Harry explained.

Destany looked at him mischievously. "Wish I knew you sooner." She stated and Harry looked at her questioningly.

"Never mind. Come on, let's blow this joint." She said and the pair snuck out of the house, trying not to look too suspicious.

"What are you doing here?" Lucius demanded. "You're supposed to be with Potter."

Draco looked up from the Quiddich magazine he was reading.

"Potter doesn't like me. Besides, he could someone else to hang out with." He said, returning his attention back to the article."  
"You fool. The Spray's foster child is not what we had in mind."

"What's so special about her? She's just a muggle. Not even of any magic. Never understood why they didn't just kill her." Draco said, sounding bored. Lucius ripped the magazine from his son's hands and threw it across the room.

"There is more about that girl than what meets the eye. You need to get back there." Lucius said, looking angrily at his son.

"That does not solve the problem that he hates me. And Father, I don't like him. I don't see why I have to do this."

"I do things for you I would rather not do. You could at least do this one thing for me." Lucius demanded. Draco looked up at his father and glared at him.

"Fine." He said his voice venomous. Lucius looked semi-satisfied and left the room. Draco crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

_Maybe I should do something to get Potter out of my life. _Draco thought.


	18. Chapter 17: Close Encounter

**A/N:** OK guys, I figured out that I can post a chap or two today, and one or two on Tuesday. Then there will be nothing until Saturday because I need to cram for my ACT for Saturday. J You should be happy to know that the next four chaps are short, but I make up for it in chapter 22-24. They are all long because so much needs to happen in one.

**Stella:** Unfortunately, I cannot answer what's so special about Destany yet. You'll find out in chapter 25 or 26. Depends on how the storyline moves. I just finalized what I was going to make her role be, b/c I had two good ideas. I don't like Draco much either. I think he will no longer appear after chapter 20 or 21 (He still has one small role to complete and I can't remember which chapter I wrote him out in). The answer to Snape comes up in chapter 23ish (again, I don't remember which chapter it is, chapter 22 or chapter 23. Could be 24, but I think that's something else…can't remember which one I left off on. lol.) I will not reveal it until then.

**Bookworm:** I'm so proud that you got caught up tear, tear Glad to know you like it and Keep reading, I also will not tell you my ending that will get me killed, in advance. Sorry, I like to keep people surprised. I only told Beachy because she is stupid and won't read it and I needed an opinion on it. J

On another note: I had to begin this story in another notebook, and when this chapter is through, you will have read 71 notebook pages (I number front and back) and the story is currently in the 120's, and getting closer to being complete tear, but there's still something's I need to cover and I'm trying to delay on the ending, because I'm afraid on what everyone's going to do to me…whimpers

And now, onto and downward to the story! (Get it? Downward cuz you need to scroll down? OK, I'm done making jokes...I hope)

**Chapter 17: Close Encounter**

Harry and Destany walked into the village. Little shops and houses lined the streets. People walked in and out of the stores, some with bags, some empty-handed and others pulling their screaming kid hurriedly behind them. The free children played merrily in the streets.

"Anywhere you want to go?" Harry asked. Destany shrugged.

"Let's just browse around. See if anything jumps out at us." She suggested. The pair walked into the village and Harry watched Destany out of the corner of his eye. He had changed her hair to black and it made her face look pale, but it did not look too bad on her. Her eyes were now a shade of hazel that he could not get used to. He was sure his own appearance had to look weird too though. He changed his own hair to a very light brown that could be mistaken for blonde. His eyes were no a crystal blue instead of the striking emerald. He made sure his hair fell right onto his forehead so it hid his unique scar.

They walked in and out of shops, laughing and browsing the tables. They were having fun and the time was passing quickly. They were walking out of a trinket shop, laughing at a joke Destany had told when Harry ran directly into someone.

"Sorry." Harry said and looked up at the man. He looked vaguely familiar but his mind was unable to connect the face with anything.

He was dressed in simple clothes that looked like they were very old and well-worn and darned in several places. His light brown hair was flecked with a little gray. He looked pale, almost sickly but at the same time, healthy looking. The man's soft eyes held a look of sadness.

Harry started to walk away and the man said "Wait." Harry turned to look at him. He could feel the man's eyes boring into his own, looking for some sign of recognition.

"Sorry, you just…look so much like someone I knew." The man said, looking sadder, if at all possible.

"It's ok." Harry said and the man walked into the shop and out of sight.

"That was odd." Destany commented.

"Yeah, but he did look familiar." Harry said, trying to force his stupid brain to work.

"Come on, let's head back before they notice we're gone." Destany said and they made their way back slowly.

Later that Evening

Harry and Destany hung out for awhile before going their separate ways. He had changed their appearances back when they got close enough to the house. Harry was still not able to shake the feeling he got from that man earlier today. He wished he would have went and talked to him some more, to try and find out why he had that feeling of familiarity. Harry walked into his room and was greeted by Draco Malfoy. _Great_. He thought.

"What are you doing here?!" Harry demanded, closing the door behind him.

"Here to talk to you." Draco answered, looking about as annoyed as Harry felt. "Where were you?" He asked.

"What are you? My keeper?" Harry asked, ignoring the question.

"No, but"  
"But it's none of your concern." Harry said, ending the discussion. "But since you are here…I overheard something about 'Muggle Attacks'…what are they?"

"Attacks on Muggles." Draco answered. Harry glared at him and rolled his eyes.

"Why, thank you for clarifying that." He said, sarcastically. "I feel so much better now."

"Muggles are magic-less people. Some...pure-blooded wizards believe that the Muggle world belongs to us. It originally did, but they started to hunt us down. One by one until they thought they had burned every last one of us to at the stakes. The wizards and witches who were not killed created the magic world as a place to hide. Since then, our worlds have been separated but, occasionally a muggle does acquire magic abilities. Pure-bloods refer to them as 'mudbloods' because they are of an un-pure blood. We fight for what is rightfully ours." Draco finished, losing any animosity he wished to keep.

"And you believe this?" Harry asked.

"I do, yes." Draco said. Harry nodded.

"Thank you for answering my question." He said.

"Your welcome." Draco answered.

"Now get out."

"What?!"

"I can't be friends with someone who believes that people aren't worthy because of their 'blood'." Harry states, feeling disgusted with Malfoy.

"You're making a mistake." Malfoy said.

"No, I'm beginning to see the light." Harry said and watched as Malfoy left the room. _And good riddance. _Harry thought.


	19. Chapter 18: OWLs and Letters

Hey guys, got a chance to post another chapter today. Hope you enjoy!

**Stella: **Yes, the man was Remus. I tried to use some of the description gave in the P.O.A. to make it more obvious, but I obviously could not come out and say it. And about Peter, I do talk about that whole thing in a chapter coming up. I originally had the Peter scenario covered earlier (chapter 9ish) when I originally got the idea, but it came up too early and I ripped it out of the notebook and saved it for later. I believe it's in chapter 21, so be on the lookout for it.

**Chapter 18: O.W.L's and Letters**

**June 20th**

Hermione looked at the letter one more time and nearly squealed in delight. She ran down the stairs of her parent's home and into the small living room where her mom and dad were seated on the sofa, watching some television program.

"Mom, Dad" Hermione said excitedly.

"Yes dear?" Her father asked, and her mother looked up at her, giving her daughter her full attention.

"I got my OWL's!" She said excitedly, and handed the letter to her parents to see her daughter's excellent marks.

"Wow! Congratulations Hermione!" Her mom and dad said, giving her a hug.

"I also got my book list…I was thinking maybe I could go to the Weasly's so I could get my things for school this week and I need to get reading so I can begin studying for NEWTs-"

"Hermione, you know you could wait and"

"MOM! I have NEWTs to think of!" Hermione said, appalled her mother would want her to _not _study.

"Yes, honey. We know." Mr. Granger said, rolling his eyes.

"Go ahead Honey and make plans with Ron and Ginny. Just let us know when you are going to be gone and for how long." Mrs. Granger said. Hermione beamed and thanked her mother and ran back up the stairs to owl Ron and Ginny.

When she stepped into her room, she already had an owl sitting on her dresser. She recognized it as Pig, Ron's owl. She walked over to it and untied the parchment and sent Pig on his way.

_ Hermione,_

_Ron just got his OWL scores, how did you do? Just wanted to ask if you wanted to go to Diagon Alley with us this week or next to get school stuff and hang out. _

_ Ginny_

Hermione smiled at the letter and pulled out her own paper and pen to reply.

_ Ginny,_

_Hey, you read my mind! I was going to ask you guys when you were going to D. Alley. BTW: Got all O's. Thank god. I was worried about Ancient Runes. A couple of kids around the block wanted me to go and do something with them on the 23rd, but after that I have no plans. Let me know when I can come._

_ Hermione_

She rolled the letter and tied it on Hedwig's leg. Hedwig was doing better, but Hermione could tell the snowy owl missed her rightful owner. She told Hedwig to deliver he letter to Ginny and watched as she flew off into the sky.

Malfoy sat at his desk, trying to write the letter. It was not coming out how he hoped it would and read what he had written.

_If you did not already throw this away, don't. I don't want to write you more than you want to receive anything from me, but I'm doing you a favor. You see, Harry Potter isn't really dead. He's alive and I want him out of my life! I am being serious. From what I was told, Harry survived the fall from the Hogwarts train and death eaters found him. They brought him back and when he woke up, he had no memory. Nothing. My father and Voldemort saw this as the perfect opportunity to_

Draco ripped the parchment into bits. He growled in frustration. Every draft of the letter did not work. He even doubted the Weasly's would even read it. He had to admit, if a letter came to him from Potter or Weasly, it would automatically end up in the trash. He frowned.

If he really wanted to get rid of Harry Potter, he was going to have to do something and he dreaded the thought.

_I will no go to their…home. Will not, will not, will not! _He emphasized.He pulled out another sheet of parchment, determined to get it right this time.


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: **This chapter does not really serve a great purpose to the story. I used it thinking that I should explain more about Destany's Past and relationship with the Spray's, whom are death eaters and she's a muggle, or maybe more. You don't know. Heck, even I'm not sure at this point (but I think I have made my executive decision…) So really, not a lot happens in this chapter…It's still June 20th and that's all I'm really going to say about this right now. J (Though if I do finish this, it will be three posts todayJ)

**Chapter 19**

Harry stepped back into his room and frowned. Tom had told him he was ready to help them. He said something about Harry attending the next raid. _None of this makes sense._ He thought, wishing for the millionth time the fog in his brain would lift so he could see the sky clearly.

There was a knock on his door and he got up to answer it, not knowing who it would be. He opened it and no sooner did he do so, Destany was in his arm, head buried in his shoulder.

He stood frozen for a minute, unsure of what to do. He then hugged her in turn, wondering what made her so upset. After a moment, Destany sniffed and pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her face.

"I'm sorry." She said, sounding almost ashamed of herself.

"No, it's ok." Harry said, pulling her inside gently and closing the door behind him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked. She was silent for a moment. He noticed she was shaking and for a moment, he thought she may burst into tears again. He studied her further and noticed she wasn't shaking from being upset. She was angry. Her hands balled into tight fists gave her away.

"I hate them." She said, her voice dripping with emotion. She was scaring him. She was usually stoic in her emotions. "I hate them so much, but they are all I got." She said.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"Same old crap. They come home and some days, we are the picture perfect foster family. Then other days…they come home and my very existence is a nuisance. I mean, they told me it was my fault my other foster parents died. They were hit head on by a friggen drunk driver! How the hell is that my fault? And this is my favorite, I'm the reason my mom gave me up. She knew I would be a screw up from day one." She said and looked more and angrier than Harry had ever seen anyone. It scared him, and he had no idea what to say. What _are you even supposed to_? Harry wondered.

"I'm sure you're not a screw up." Harry said, knowing how lame it had to sound.

"Thanks." She said. "It means a lot to hear someone say it." She looked down at the ground. "It does make me wonder if they're right. I mean what kind of mother gives up their child to total strangers?"

"Maybe it was for the best. Maybe she didn't have the means to take care of you properly and felt you would be better off somewhere else." Harry said. Destany looked at him. "I'm not saying it to make an excuse. I'm just saying, maybe that was her reason. Maybe something else happened." He added.

She nodded. "Maybe you're right." She said finally and silence over came them. It wasn't a completely uncomfortable silence, but it was silence none the less.

"I'm sorry. I'm such a wreck. The last thing you needed as my problems. I just had to leave that place…I could barely contain myself from doing something violent and that scared me." She said, finally breaking the silence.

"It's ok. I'm here anytime you need me to be. Besides, I know the world isn't perfect-"

"It's not?" Destany asked, acting much like a small child who learned that Santa Claus wasn't real. (I apologize to those who believe Santa is still real, just ignore it). Harry laughed and she smiled a small smile.

"My point was, it's nice to hear about someone else's problems."

She nodded in understanding and they were silent again.

"So, what about you? How's it coming on the memory front?" She asked.

"Same. The longer I'm here, the more…off it seems. It's almost like…I don't know I should be somewhere else." Harry said and frowned.

"Maybe, if you keep trying to remember…you won't." She said.

"Hu?" Harry asked, not understanding the logic.

"Reverse Psychology." Destany said simply and laughed at Harry's stumped face. "At my school, I took a psychology class. There's a theory about mind over matter, if you say you're not going to be able to do something you generally can't, and if you brag about doing stuff the best you turn out to be the worst. Anyway, there were studies shown that if you try too hard at something, you generally can't do it. So, you're trying and trying to remember and you can't. So, try not to remember. Don't think about it so much, and maybe you will remember." She explained, her blue eyes sparking with the satisfaction of being right.

"So, how do you propose we do this?" Harry asked. Destany grinned evilly and Harry watched her as she approached the bed.

"Like this…" She said and grabbed a pillow off the bed and hit him with it. "I hereby challenge thee to a pillow fight."

"Challenge accepted." Harry said and ran to the bed quickly to grab the other pillow.


	21. Chapter 20: The Visit

**A/N:** bah! ACT tests are the devil! I hate standardized testing. It should be banned! Anywho, sorry it took so long to post L but I had to focus on studying for that stupid test earlier today; but I'm back! I'm sure you're all running and screaming, but hey, what can I say? ;)

**Bookworm: **Glad you enjoy it. As I said before, Draco plays another small role later

**Darkone: **I am not putting a Yetti in this story. Look at the x-files one's we co-wrote…but those screwed up hilarious comedies were my entire fault. Again, I will only admit this once, and sadly, you now have proof. Also, remember that 'Chuck' is a foreign object, and if "E.T. can get home, so can" the Canadian in that stupid essay on the ACT test

**writingjustforfun**I'm glad you happened upon my story and glad you like it. J

**Stella: **lol! Very ha ha…sounds like something I would say… lol! Glad you enjoyed the last chapters.

Hope you all enjoy again! On a side note: I noticed I lost reviewersL. People may not know this, but I like reviewers. Even flamers, because they amuse me to no end. So please, you have to have an opinion…if you read the story, please review, that's all I ask. And now onto the next chapter!!!! (The plot really kicks off here lets out an excited cheer, reviewers cheer loudly and knock me off my comfy computer chair, author looks scared ;) )

**Chapter 20 - The Visit**

**June 22nd**

Draco Malfoy stood in front of the fireplace, holding a handful of floo powder. _I can't believe I'm even thinking about doing this. _He thought. He glanced over his shoulder for the hundredth time, afraid someone or something was going to catch him in his moment of idiocy. He took a deep breath and stepped into the fireplace. He held his arm up, closed his eyes tightly shut and said "The Burrow" very reluctantly, but clearly so he did not wind up at some unknown place. With nothing more than a poof of smoke, he found himself standing in the Weasly home's small fireplace.

Malfoy stepped out of the fireplace, looking disgusted and brushed all of the ash and powder from his robes. _Don't they ever _clean_ their fireplace? _Malfoy wondered. The place was worst than he imagined. Now, Malfoy was not against organized chaos, didn't like it, but he did not prefer the method of organization; but this was just chaos! Not even chaos, if he could think of a better word he would use it, but worst than chaos came to mind. He shuddered slightly, and was about ready to leave again when he heard someone behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Draco turned to face Ronald Weasly's angry face.

"Believe me when I say," Draco started and wrinkled his nose in a complete look of disgust, "I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be."

"Then Get out!" Ron said, trying to look tough. Draco almost rolled his eyes and laughed at him. But he really did not want to spend anymore time than necessary, and he had to face it, sacrifices needed to be made to get what you want, and Malfoy wanted nothing else than Harry Potter gone. Out of his life. He didn't care if he was dead or alive at this point. He was desperate. _Desperate times call for desperate measures_. He thought.

"Puh-lease Weasle.._Weasly_, I'm here to do us _both_ a favor."

"Really, and what is that exactly?" Ron asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "You here to do the 'Dark Lords' bidding?" Ron taunted. Malfoy glared at him, but said nothing, and chose to ignore that last comment.

"You see, I don't want anything to do with him, but you…you on the other hand, you'd want him."

"Voldemort? Like hell I'd want him."

"Yes-No, not vold-the Dark Lord" Malfoy stammered.

"Than who?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes, and humoring Malfoy.

"Harry Potter." Malfoy said, almost dramatically.

"You're delusional. Harry's dead, Malfoy." Ron said. _Does he really think I'm going to fall for that? Malfoy of all people coming here to tell me Harry's alive? Yeah, right! Like that isn't a trap. _Ron thought.

"The Dark Lord captured him. Some death eaters found him, alive, after the incident on the Hogwarts Express. When he gained consciousness, funny thing happened, Harry had no memory. Complete amnesia." Malfoy explained, and went on to tell him about his father's plan.

"Malfoy, go home." Ron said, not believing that Malfoy actually believed he'd fall for that lie.

"I'm telling the truth!" Malfoy insisted. "I know you have every reason to doubt me. Ron, I can get you proof if you need it, but I can't _stand_ another second with Potter."

"Get out Malfoy." Ron said, rolling his eyes again. "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work."

"Weas-_Ronald _I am not _lying_. Why would I admit to…" Malfoy shuddered. "Being…forced, to be mates with Harry Potter?!" Ron was silent for a moment, as if he were considering the words just said.

"You'll know how to find me if you want your friend back." Malfoy said and stepped back into the small, dirty fireplace. "Oh, and you may want to _clean_ this. It's _filthy_." He said, and was gone before Ron could say anything back. Ron stared at the fireplace for a moment, and frowned.

_ I'm going to need to disinfect this whole house. _Ron thought. _Draco Malfoy was actually here, in our house. _Ron shuddered. _Eeewww! _He thought, and wondered why he thought that like Ginny when she saw some kind of bug. _Could he be right? _He wondered a moment later. _But it could be a trap. I tell the Order and they investigate and then, boom. Another D.O.M. incident. It's all a trick. It has to be. Why else would Malfoy actually come here, of all places? He's manipulative, cruel, and a jerk overall. _He thought, and pulled himself from his thoughts.

Hermione would be there later that evening and there were chores to complete before they left to go and pick her up.


	22. Chapter 21: Arguements and Warnings

**Chapter 21**

**June 24th**

Ron and Hermione were up in his room, talking. Ron was telling her about his encounter with Malfoy since now was the only time he could get her alone.

"So, Let me get this straight, Draco Malfoy, came here, two days ago…to talk to you about Harry..possibly being alive, and you DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING?!" Hermione demanded, her voice rising at the end.

"Hermione, it was..is a trick!" Ron defended.

"How do you know Ron? How do you know?" She demanded, her voice low in anger.

"Hermione. I know you care a lot for Harry and it's clouding your judgment. You don't think I want Harry to be alive? Do you not remember he's my best friend too?!" Ron demanded, trying to reason with his friend.

"There's a difference Ron. I know Harry's alive. I can feel it." She said, and Ron was sure she was going to cry.

"Hermione, think about. Please. Think rationally. Malfoy came here! Why? Because he wanted to help us! Since when does Malfoy do anything for anyone else?"

"You said it yourself Ron. You said he wanted Harry out of his way." Hermione stated. Ron scoffed. The friends stood across from each other, glaring.

_ Please, Hermione. Let's not fight over this. I don't want to loose two friends. _Ron thought, but couldn't get the words out. _I know Malfoy's intentions. Hermione was just too…in love with Harry to see it._ _Whoa. Where did that come from? Hermione doesn't love Harry…does she? _He wondered.

"Hermione?" A voice said. They turned towards the doorway and saw Ginny staring there.

"Hey Ginny." Hermione greeted, and gave Ron a look that said _this discussion is not over._

"Mum wants to know if you two are ready?"

"Yeah, we'll be right down." Hermione said, and Ginny looked at her brother and friend. She knew something was wrong. Hermione seemed angry about something and Ron looked frustrated.

"OK." Ginny said and left the room. Hermione gave Ron one last look and followed Ginny out of the room. Ron hung his head for a moment and followed suit.

Harry and Tom faced each other, both now tired from the small duel they had. Neither won the match, but Tom called it off, saying it was enough for the day. Harry secretly wondered if there was more to it than that. He seemed…almost panic-y.

"Oh, Harry. We're planning an attack on Potter's followers in two days. We would like you to be there." Tom stated.

"Why me?"

"Don't you want to test you skills?" He asked, and Harry could have sworn the older man twitched.

"I guess. If you think-"

"You're ready." Tom cut him off. Harry glanced at him uncertainly and shrugged.

"Great! They'll be glad to have you. Let me know if anyone gives you a hard time." Tom said and turned to leave the room, and stopped and called over his shoulder. "And Harry, don't disappoint me," and left the room before Harry could interpret the warning.


	23. Chapter 22: Malfoy and Rats

**A/N: **I'm back! Did you miss me? Probably not. You don't miss me; you're just interested in the story. sigh oh well. Btw: the last two chapters were shorter (I warned you guys earlier) I was going to try and post the next chapter with it (but its long!) so It's been taking longer to get up than I originally thoughtL. The next two or three chapters are also pretty lengthy. A lot needed to happen and such. But anywho:

**Stella: **as I said before, here's a long chappy for ya! And I think that's why I liked I'm not that girl…I'm addicted to soap opera's…courtesy of my mother.

**Writingjustforfun: **aaww, I feel loved. You couldn't flame me. There's a reason why I find flamers amusing and this is why: The usually read the whole story, and then tell you what a load of crap it is. Now, if it is a load of crap, you think they'd put that in a review for the first chapter or two. But no, they go through and read the whole story and then say what a load of crap it is. It just amuses me to no end. I hope this lifts your spirits, I know how crappy finals are! J

OH! One star () signifies a flashback. I'm going to italics the text in between too so you can tell the difference better.

**Chapter 22- Malfoy and Rats**

**June 26**

Hermione creped slowly out of Ginny's room. She knew Ron and Ginny would be asleep for a couple more hours, leaving her just needing to worry about Mr. Weasly being gone for work and whatever Mrs. Weasly was up to. She walked slowly down the old staircase, hoping no one could detect her moving around the home. She slowly walked throughout the house, checking to see if anyone was there. In the kitchen, she saw a note on the table.

_Kids,_

_Had to run to get a few things from the store. Be back in a couple of hours. Be good._

_ Mom._

Hermione grinned to herself as she read it. _Perfect,_ she thought. She crossed the room quietly over to the over-used fireplace. She glanced over her shoulder and grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was afraid Ron and Ginny might be able to hear it upstairs. She took a deep breath to calm her fraying nerves. She held up her hand and watched as the access powder trailed from between her fingers and onto the ground. She dropped it all quickly while saying "Malfoy Manor" and was gone with nothing more than a poof of smoke.

She reappeared in another fireplace, coughing slightly from the smoke of the transportation. She brushed off her clothes and stepped out of the fireplace, looking around in awe.

She was in what seemed to be a study. There were book cases that covered the walls, and all were full of different books. She would have been in heaven if it was not the home of her 'enemy'. There was one red velvet arm chair facing the fireplace and no other furnishings. She wanted to go to the shelves and read every book there, but she reminded herself she was not welcome here and put herself back to business. She crossed the room over to the large oak door and opened it.

The hallway was empty and she carefully made her way around, having no clue where she would find Malfoy at. She poked her head into various rooms, quickly so she would not be seen easily. She moved slowly and stayed to the shadows, hoping she would not be detected. She heard voices behind her and she dashed quickly around a corner and pressed herself against a wall.

_Please don't come down here, please don't come down here. _She chanted, feeling her heart race again as if she had run a marathon. She strained to here the conversation, but it had come to a halt. She held her breath, as if that simple act of breathing would give her away. She heard a door open and then close. She stayed put for a moment, making sure she was safe and cautiously peaked around the corner.

She saw it was clear and sighed slightly in relief. Just as she was about to continue the search, a voice said "What the hell are you doing here?"

Hermione jumped and nearly screamed in surprise. She spun around and found herself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy and his infamous smirk.

"Ron told me about what you said." Hermione said, keeping her voice low.

"Get out of here, Granger." Malfoy sneered.

"No. I want to know if it's true." Hermione demanded. Malfoy glared at her and grabbed her arm, roughly, and pulled her down the hall and stepped into a seemingly random room. He closed the door behind them.

"Let me go!" Hermione demanded.

"Do you want my father to see you here? Stupid Mudblood." He muttered. Hermione glared at him. Malfoy dropped her arm, remembering the broken nose he received from her over two years ago.

"Is it true?" She asked. Malfoy was silent.

"Ron doesn't believe you. He thinks you're trying to set us up. Normally, I would agree with him, but I think if there's a chance that Harry's alive, then I want to find him. With or without your help."

"I didn't tell Ron out of the 'goodness' of my 'heart'. I want Potter gone."

"So, it's true then." Hermione clarified.

"Yes," Malfoy said, rolling his eyes.

"Take me to him." Hermione demanded.

"Are you crazy? Wait, never mind, you are crazy! Insane even! You willingly come here, knowing my father would kill you in a second if he spotted you. Heck, I would be killed for not telling him you were here! And they say you're the smartest witch in Hogwarts." Malfoy said, rolling his eyes and continued "The place will be crawling with death eaters. For a Mudblood or non-death eater, it would be suicide!"

"You expect me to sleep on the knowledge that-"

"You're the one who came here. I did not ask you to. Go Home Granger." Malfoy pointed out, clearly finished with this discussion.

"Fine. I'll find him with out your help." Hermione said, determinedly and went to leave the room.

"That's what you think." She heard him mutter and she huffed slightly to herself and left the room and back to the fireplace whence she came.

Harry walked through the house to meet Destany. He had no clue what she had planned for that day. She only said to meet her and here he is, pondering for the hundredth time why he keeps on hanging out with her; besides the fact that she's crazy, sometimes funny, and does not care if he remembers anything about his life or not, which is a good thing. Harry rounded another corner and ran into a man.

"Sorry" Harry said, quickly. He looked up into the man's face and it instantly reminded him of a rat.

"Harry! How are you?" The man asked.

"Fine. Thanks." Harry said, knowing the man sounded oddly familiar. _Not again. _Harry groaned, mentally.

"I can't believe I ran into Harry Po-er, you here." The man stammered.

"What did you say?" Harry asked. It was the second…or was it third, time someone had almost said his last name; and by gone-it, he wanted to know what it was. He is not stupid enough to think his name is just plain Harry. Though, it is possible, but very unlikely.

"Err, nothing" The man stammered. Harry gave him a look that clearly read he did not believe a word he just said.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, not bothering to be polite about it.

"It's me Harry! Peter!" The man said, excitedly.

_"Give me the rat Harry." A man said. He had dark hair and tall. He was intimidating, but Harry found himself not afraid. _

_ "What did Scabbers do to you?" A boy with red-hair squeaked._

_ "He's not Scabbers. I can't believe we did not notice it before." The other man said. He looked exactly like the man he ran into the other day in the village, only a couple of years younger._

_ "Who is he if he isn't Scabbers?" Harry asked, looking down at the brown rat in his hands. _

_ "Not Scabbers! Harry, who else would he be?!" The boy demanded._

_ "He's Peter. Peter Pettigrew. Harry, he's the man who betrayed your parents."_

Harry's eyes widened and he took a step away from the man. His heart was pounding very quickly. He was sure he went deathly pale and felt a cold sweat of fear and panic come over his face.

"Come on Harry, it's me." The man encouraged.

_That's what I'm afraid of. _He thought.

"I-I'm..sorry..I h-h-ave to…have to go…I'm late on meeting a f-friend." Harry stammered and tried to walk past the man. Peter kept up with him.

"Why are you running harry? We were good friends once." Peter said, a strange look on Harry's face, and it scared him. It almost reminded him of a cat, trying to catch a mouse.

_"What?! How could Scabbers do that?!" The boy demanded again. _

_ "He's not really a rat. He's an illegal animagus. Harry, just like your father, just like me." The dark haired man explained. _

_ "Prove it." Harry said, wanting to believe the man he'd known all his life. At the same time, he did not want to; he knew his friend would miss his pet. _

_ "What!? Harry!"_

_ "Shut up Ron!" A girl's voice said. Harry turned and saw Her, looking annoyed at the boy. The red-head huffed and stayed quiet. The dark-haired man came forward with his wand out._

_ "It's not going to hurt him, is it?" The boy asked, sounding genuinely concerned._

_ "No, it will not harm him…unfortunately." The man said. He received a glare form the other man. _

_ "Padfoot!"_

_ "What can I say, Moony. Revenge is sweet." Padfoot said. He turned his attention back to the rat Harry was holding. He hovered the wand above the rat's head and muttered an incantation Harry did not catch. The rat squirmed out of his hands and ran across the room. It was then bathed in a white light and Harry watched as it transformed from a rat to the cowardly man hiding within. _

Harry unconsciously picked up his pace, wanting to get as far away as fast as possible from that man. _Get away from me. _He thought, and quickly called to his mind the layout of the place so he could get away from him.

"Where ya going Harry?" Peter asked. Harry stopped abruptly.

"Look. I'm late. Just leave me alone." He said and kept walking, not paying attention if the man known as Peter, or Scabbers, was following. When he rounded the corner, his pace quickened to a jog, to a run. He soon realized that Peter was not following him, and he slowed, a little.

Harry opened the main door to outside and was greeted by Destany's smiling face. When she saw him, her face fell.

"What's wrong?"

"I think I need to find a way to get out of here." He said.

"Why?" She asked, wondering what was the cause this time. Harry glanced back at the doors he just came from.

"Come on, not here." He said and they walked into the woods, all thoughts of earlier plans gone.

Hermione reentered the Burrow and rushed upstairs to Ginny's room. She grabbed a change of clothes and walked hurriedly into the bathroom. She changed her clothes and brushed all the evidence of flooing out of her hair. She quickly smelled it to see if it smelled like ash; knowing it's thickness somehow absorbed smells. Thankfully, it did not smell of fire. She exited the bathroom as Ginny was leaving her room, looking groggy still.

"Hey, Morning." Hermione greeted.

"How long have you been up?" Ginny asked, seeing Hermione dressed and ready for the day.

"Oh, not even 10-15 minutes." Hermione lied. _More like 2 or 3 hours. _She thought. The first hour or so laying around getting up the nerve to leave the house. The second hour debating if she should go or not and the remaining time spent at Malfoy manor.

"Oh. Have you eaten yet?" Ginny asked. Before Hermione could answer, Ron stepped out of his own room.

"Did someone just mention food?" He asked, brightly.

"Come one, let's go and get breakfast." Hermione said and she and Ginny walked down the stairs, leaving Ron standing in the hallway, looking confused.

Ginny read the note from Mrs. Weasly and began gathering items to make a quick breakfast for the three of them. Hermione stood by the table and slowly grinned to herself.

_ He's alive, he's alive, and I knew it! _She thought, happily.

"Hermione?"

"Hu?"

"Are you…OK?" Ginny asked her.

"Yes. I'm fine." Hermione said, and the first time she really meant it. Ginny gave her a strange look and went back to cooking. _I'll be fine, now all I need to do is find Harry. _She thought, determinedly.

_Easier said than done. _Her conscious taunted her.

"So, you remembered this guy? Peter?"

"Yes. I can't believe I would actually join a cause with a man who-"

"Maybe you don't get along with your parents." Destany suggested.

"What?"  
"Think about it. A lot of kids don't get along with their families. It's not that uncommon. Maybe you joined this so called cause out of an act of rebellion. Maybe, even, you believed in it."

"You're sounding just like everyone else." Harry muttered.

"You and me, we don't know the reasons Harry. We don't pretend we do know. It's very possible you are right and everyone is out to get you. But, maybe I'm right, and they are not. And just maybe, we're both psycho loonies in the nut house coming up with this elaborate story line. We just don't know. The possibilities are endless. But, you have to ask yourself, is it worth the risk?" Destany said, and Harry considered her words. "Why not wait until we know something solid. Something more about your past. If you don't trust this Peter guy, then try to avoid him."

"I think you're right. The more and more I think about it, the more uneasy I feel about everything." Harry confided and cursed his memory again. _Why can't I remember more? Like who are those other men, who was the kid with the red hair, and who is that girl?_

"Well then, we need to keep you from thinking about it." Destany said. Harry groaned.

"Don't tell me you're planning another pillow fight." Harry whined. He ended up with bruises from it, how that happened, he had no clue. Destany grinned mischievously.

"Come one!" She said, getting up from the ground. Harry watched her suspiciously.

"Are you going to mop around all day, or are you going to try and have an ounce of fun?" Destany asked. Harry sighed in defeat and stood up from the soft grass. Destany grinned a Cheshire cat grin and led him further into the woods.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"You'll see." She said, and kept walking. Harry followed her. _Oh boy. _He thought, his mind trailing back and playing his encounter with Peter Pettigrew over again.


	24. Chapter 23: Hermione?

**A/N: **Hey guys, I'm back again. No my basher did not deter me from writing. I'm happy to announce, I have another page-page and a half and the story is complete. If you have any questions, please let me know so I can try and clear them up. I don't want to leave too much hanging. I do explain Destany's significance, some things on Harry's past, Peter's relationship gets discussed, there's some Snape bashing by the marauders…uh, if there's anything you would like to see, please let me know also. I'm all for trying to write things in my constructive reviewers like to see. Now onto the addressing of my reviewers.

**Writingjustforfun**I'll make sure I try and write Moony in more. Unfortunately, I seem to favor Sirius and James…mostly because I see them as the jokers and pranksters and that's more of my personality, so it's easy to write. I'll try and work more with Moony though. ;) Also, thank you for sticking up for me to my basher. It meant a lot. Knowing you defended me, I knew you really liked my story and I generally think my writing is..how did "anonymus" put it…"craptacular"

**Stellablu**Actually, I don't know why they all have red-velvet arm chairs. I just like that description I guess, lol! There is no significance. That's just how I see the room in my mind. I just explained about Destany above, so I will not mention that again. I will say again that Harry and Hermione do have a 'moment' towards chapter 30.

And now the address I'm sure you're all waiting for:

**To my 'anonymous' reviewer:** who I also refer to as, my basher. My first reaction to you was to wince. My second was I was laughing so hard, I almost got a detention from my computer teacher. Thank You for lighting up my day. First, you do not need to explain to me about the Hero complex. I understand that Harry Potter is a tragic hero (yes I did pay attention in English that day). I don't need it spelled out to me. Just because Sirius died and I understand why, before you pointed it out to me-thank you very much (note the sarcasm), does not mean I have to like it. Sirius is one of my favorite characters and I was sad to see him go. I also like Sirius because my personality matches his, so it was easier to write Sirius in than stick with Remus a lot. I also want to note that I will not waste my time checking out that site because of your rudeness. If you were to bash me with more class, then maybe I would check it out. You could have made a much better insult. Whatever happened to Shakespearean insults? Thoust writing is so bad, you burn my eyes out. Something better! I could at least respect you for something like that. Though I do like the word craptacular and I will add that to my dictionary. I never claimed to be an English major and really, I don't want to. If I'm going to look at a story and only see errors like you, I'd much rather have craptacular grammar skills. I did not want to name the chapter "Platform 9 34" the staff changed the slash on it. It should have read Platform 9 ¾, but as I said, the setting on the posting process take out the slash. Not my fault and you would know that if you ever posted a story. I have "unbelievable" dialog because life is too boring if people talk the same way and I do not picture all adults stuffy like you apparently do. I do not want to reveal my whole plot line at one time. Hence why I don't clarify everything, and obviously you're stupid because no one else had a hard time figuring out what I mean for unspoken comments and other things in the dialog. If you're going to continue to bash me, please don't. I accept and welcome criticism, and bashing for that matter, but do it with class and style. Do not assume I'm retarded either. I have pretty darn close to a 4.0 GPA, I'm smarter than you obviously make me out to be.

**BookWorm**Thank you for reading and thank you for standing up for me. I feel loved.

**Darkone**Thanks for sticking up for me, but I don't really need it. You know that. I can fight my own battles.

**Onewhoknowsmebest**that is so true. Thanks for FINALLY reading something!

Now, that all of that is said: Onto the story! (everything in italics and between are flashbacks)

**Chapter 23- Hermione?**

**June 28**

Hermione stood in Diagon Alley outside of Fred and George's joke shop called Weasly's Wizarding Weezes. It was her last day at the Burrow before she had to go home. Fred and George had invited her and his family to come and take a tour of the shop. She had to admit, Fred and George did a better job than she ever thought would be possible. She only wished that Harry could have been there to see it. Then again, she shouldn't be surprised they did a good job. Jokes were the only thing they ever really excelled at.

"Hermione?" She turned and saw Professor Lupin standing behind her.

"Professor Lupin," She greeted, "How have you been?"

"Hermione, I'm not your teacher anymore. Please, call me Remus," He reminded her for the hundredth time.

"Sorry. It's habit," She said and Prof-Remus, smiled.

"How have you been?" He asked, glancing quickly over at the twins' shop.

"OK. How is everyone at the Order?" Hermione asked him.

"They're all as good as can be." He responded, looking sadly at her. Hermione nodded in understanding.

Mrs. Weasly, Ron, and Ginny walked out of the shop and over to the pair.

"Hello Remus." Mrs. Weasly greeted.

"Hello Molly," Remus returned. Before anymore formalities could be said, someone ran through the crowd of people, looking terrified.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked the woman, looking at her concerned. The woman grabbed Remus's robes and said "Death Eaters."

"Where?" He asked urgently.

"Oh dear. Children, we must"

"Why, if it isn't Remus Lupin," A Death Eater said from behind the group. Remus turned to face the voice. Mrs. Weasly gathered the children around her and looked for somewhere to run for cover.

"Masify Bungald," Remus said, pulling his wand from he tattered robes. Then all chaos broke loose. Wizards dueled everywhere. Some cowardly ones ran off, trying to escape Voldemorts much feared henchmen. Screams rang throughout the once-pleasant air. Blood was spilled on the ground from both sides, but most from the scrambling wizards trying to run away. Order Members began to arrive along with the ministry's aurors. Mrs. Weasly grabbed the children and ran through the crowd, hoping to get everyone to safety. Hermione was running with the group and it was hard to stay as a unit when you were working through the mass of scared wizards and dueling.

Hermione was shoved away form the group and lost sight of them almost instaneously. She kept moving with the mass of people, hoping to find the weaslys. She tripped on a loose cobblestone and fell to her hands and knees. People scrambled around her and none stopped to make sure she was ok. She moved slowly out of the way so she would not be stepped on and rested a moment, wondering if it was what a stampede felt like.

"Filthy Mudblood." A voice said.

Hermione looked up and saw a wand pointed directly at her. She had nowhere to run and nowhere to go. She instinctually held her hands up over her head and curled into a protective ball, knowing it would not do any good.

"Expellimus," Another voice said. She expected to have been hit with it, and after a moment, she glanced up and saw the Death Eater was gone. She looked up and saw him crumbled to the ground. It was obvious he hit the building behind him, hard. Hermione looked towards where she heard the voice and gasped.

Not even five feet away from her stood Harry Potter.

Hermione was sure she was imagining this. Her brown eyes had to be wider than saucers and her mouth was wide open in shock. She wanted to rejoice, to scream, to hug him, to dance, to sing, anything, but she was frozen in place, staring at her best friend. They looked at each other and Hermione looked into his familiar emerald green eyes and saw an odd look there.

"Harry?" Hermione finally was able to say. She slowly stood up before him.

"I don't-" He started and was interrupted by a flood of memories.

_Seeing Her in second year, Petrified_

_ Her smiling back at him _

_ He was in third year again, standing close to her in confusion as she used her time turner so they could save BuckBeak._

_ Hermione laying unconscious in the Ministry of Magic_

_ First year Hermione standing in the entryway of the train, stating in her know it all voice "I am Her-"_

"Hermione?" Harry said, with the memory. She nodded and she saw a look of confusion cross his features.

"Harry-" She started to say, but someone ran into her again, forcing her to loose visual contact with him.

Harry went to go and make sure he was ok, but someone grabbed his arm.

"Come on kid." The man said, and dragged him away. Harry reluctantly followed, and looked over his shoulder at Hermione; he could see her looking around frantically, trying to find him. He went to call for her, but before he could form the words, he was gone from the mass of terror, and back in the all too familiar house.

"Let go of me." Harry said slowly. His emerald eyes fiery with fury. The death eater only grabbed his arm tighter and pulled him away. Harry tried to struggle out of the grip, but it was no use. The man had him too tight. They walked back in the home and the man shoved Harry into his room and closed the door behind him. Harry ran over to it and tried to open it. It was locked.

He growled in frustration and reached into his pocket for his wand and found it was gone. He silently cursed himself and sat down on the bed, trying to think how he could get back to Hermione.

Hermione looked frantically around for Harry. He was nowhere to be seen. Everyone had scattered, leaving her deserted in the normally bustling city. She looked back at where Harry was standing and saw his wand laying there, evidence he was really there. She walked over to it and picked it up. She silently promised she would make sure it got back to him, along with Hedwig.

"Hermione!"

Still holding the wand as if it were glass, she turned around to see Ron running towards her.

"Hermione, are you alright? We were worr-" Ron stopped dead in the middle of his sentence when he saw what she held.

"He saved me." She said, looking into Ron's shocked eyes.

"He's really alive." Ron said, dumbfoundedly. Hermione smiled and nodded.

"We have to tell Remus, James, and Sirius!" Ron said, still not completely over his shock.

"They're here? I knew Prof-Remus was." Hermione said and Ron nodded.

"Come on, we have to find them!"

The duo ran off to find the adults, marveling in the damage. Hermione slipped Harry's wand in her robe pockets for safe keeping, keeping her hand on it so she did not loose it. After all, it was her only connection to him.

There was literally no one in Diagon Alley anymore. It was like walking through a ghost town. Windows that were usually perfect and filled with items were now broken and shards of glass littered the streets, some buildings had holes in them. They past the medi-wizards from St. Mungos and other wizarding hospitals, collecting the dead and the wounded from both sides. The two friends walked along in silence until they found Sirius and Remus standing aside, talking about Order information. Ron and Hermione approached them. The adults stopped talking and looked at them.

"Are you ok?" Sirius asked, looking at Hermione then Ron.

"We're fine. The question should be, are you ok?" She asked. Sirius's robes were torn in several places. He had a cut on the side of his face and blood flowed out of it, making it look worst than it really was. He looked weary and so did Remus. Remus did not fair no worst. His arm was cut and bleeding on the upper portion by his shoulder that ran down half way to the elbow. It looked painful and Remus held his arm across his chest as if it was strapped into a sling.

"Just a scratch." Sirius said, brushing off Hermione's concern.

"Did you need anything?" Remus asked. Hermione nodded.

"Is James around? I think he should hear this too." Hermione said. Remus looked at her questioningly and Sirius paled.

"Don't tell me you're pregnant!" Sirius said, hurriedly.

"I'm not pregnant." Hermione said, looking at Sirius in disgust. The man looked relieved, and she thought Remus did too.

"I saw James earlier. He's busy working. It would be best not to bother him." Remus said, and Hermione thought he spoke from experience.

"OK, I know you will think I'm crazy at first, but please keep an open mind. When the attack started, I got separated form the Weasly's. I was cornered by a death eater-"

"Are you sure you're ok?" Remus asked, looking genuinely concerned. Hermione nodded and he looked her over closely before she noticed relief flooding over his features. She knew Remus, Sirius, James and Lily had pretty much accepted her as their daughter as they all treated Harry like he was their son, but she was surprised they were that worried about her.

"I'm fine because Harry saved me." Hermione said, and both adults looked at each other. Hermione pulled the wand out of her pocket and handed it to Sirius.

"Hermione, where did you get this?" Sirius asked, recognizing who the wand instantaneously.

"I told you. Harry saved me. Someone grabbed him soon after and he must have dropped it." Hermione recounted. Remus looked at Ron.

"Did you see-"  
"I wasn't there." Remus looked uncertain.

"We should" Remus started to say, but Sirius cut him off.

"Tell Lily and James."

"Sirius, we have to have more informa-"

"Moony, you know what I know. Harry's body was never found. Don't it seem convenient?"

"I still think we should-"

"Moony, that's the problem. You think too much." Sirius argued. Remus looked down at the ground. "You yourself admitted you saw someone who looked just like Harry the other day. How do you know it wasn't him?"

"I don't know." Remus said quietly.

"Remus, it's worth checking into, isn't it?"

"But isn't it wrong to get their hopes up? James had finally stopped living on autopilot. Lily's still depressed, but she's beginning to accept it. It would be wrong of us to give them false hope."

"I know I saw him!" Hermione said, surprised Remus Lupin of all people would not believe her. He was starting to sound a lot like Snape in that respect.

"Hermione, it could be you saw someone who looks like Harry and"

"Come on Remus! You know its bull. If you don't think we should tell Prongs and Lily yet, then fine. I can live with that. But could you live with yourself Remus, if we did not check this out?"

"Hermione let us handle this. May I have Harry's wand so we can tell"  
"Wait." Ron said, speaking up for the first time. "You can turn to a dog. Can't you smell him if we took you back there?" Ron asked. Everyone looked at Ron in shock. "What?" He asked.

"RON! You're a GENIUS!" Hermione squealed. Ron Grinned.

"I am?"

"Come on." Sirius said and they walked back to where Ron and Hermione came from, hurriedly. When they got there, the group looked around to make sure no one was there, and Sirius turned into Snuffles and walked around the area, sniffing the ground as he walked.

Everyone watched and Hermione felt anxious. _What is Remus is right? What if I imagined it was Harry? But how does it explain the wand?_ She wondered.

Sirius finished sniffing around and trotted back towards the group. Remus and the others checked around again and Sirius changed back into Sirius.

"Well?" Remus asked.

"The old nose was a bit rusty, it took awhile, but yes, Harry's scent is here."

Hermione felt a flood of relief wash over her.

"I apologize, Hermione." Remus said.

"I understand." She said.

"Let's alert Dumbledore for sure Padfoot. I don't know if we should mention anything to James yet. He might try and do something stupid." Sirius nodded in agreement, but looked uncertain. Like the agreement did not sit well with him. Hermione handed Sirius the wand.

"For further evidence." She explained. Sirius smiled at her.

"Thank you." He said.

The two marauders left the kids alone in search of Dumbledore.

"Come on Hermione, moms got to be freaking out." Ron said. Hermione nodded and followed Ron.

_Hold on Harry. _She thought. _We're going to find you. _


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N**: Happy Holiday's everyone! (I don't wanna offend people who do not celebrate x-mas). I won't be able to post after today because I need to finish up with last minute preparations. I'll try and post on Thursday and maybe Friday. I can't promise anything though. My stories complete! I wrote the ending Friday night after I posted. I like how I ended it, but I'm afraid I'll end up with 'mad' reviewers. On a side note: I hope you are happy I'm posting, because I am a Popsicle in my room! shiversI also wanted to say I saw Series of Unfortunate Events and Jersey Girl last night, good movies. I recommend them.

**Writingjustforfun: **Actually, I already had that section wrote with a lot of Remus, I didn't realize it was then when I wrote the reply! LOL! I don't really use him that much in the next couple of chapters but I'll try and add more Moony. I'll try anything to please my reviewers...except tell them the ending before it gets posted. ;)

I feel great that you like the relationship between Harry and Hermione. I feel proud that I converted (momentarily) a Ron/Hermione fan. J Hmmm, actually, Snape bashing is fun to write. Snape reminds me a lot of one of my teachers, so I'm glad to write bad stuff about Snape. Actually, I think all of the marauders get in on Snivellus bashing. :D  
And of course, here's your update! ;)

**Chapter 24**

**July 1st**

"My Lord, what are we going to do about Potter?" Wormtail asked.

Severus Snape looked around puzzled. _James hasn't done much to them… lately_. He thought, though he would not mind if Potter was 'taken care of'.

"For now, we keep him. We'll devise a plan to get…Dumbledore" Voldemort sneered "along with the remaining Potters and their order to a trap."

_They're not talking about James. I would know if they captured him or Lily. The word would be around here quickly; plus Dumbledore would have alerted me to keep an eye out for them. That only leaves the 'dead' Harry Potter, or some other Potter. _Snape reasoned. He looked over at Bellatrix Lestrange who was standing next to him.

"Who are they talking about?" He whispered.

Bellatrix looked at him and sneered "You would know if you weren't late to every meeting."

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Snape demanded.

"Harry Potter." She spat.

"Severus and Bellatrix. Is there something more interesting than this meeting?" Voldemort asked them.

"Professor Snape was just asking to whom we were referring to. I told him if he had been here, he would have known." Bellatrix answered, looking rather pleased with herself.

"While she is correct, Severus, please find information _after_ the meeting. I will not tolerate anymore interruptions."

"Yes my lord." Snape answered the gears in his slimy head turning. As much as he resented the Potters, James and Harry especially, he knew he had to find out where Harry was, alert the order, and help Dumbledore devise a plan to rescue him…even if it blew his cover. Snape frowned.

He saw Voldemort looking at him intently. Snape hurriedly cleared his mind and inserted thoughts of seeing Potter being tortured, hoping that Voldemort did not see his earlier thoughts.

Later that Night

Snape entered Dumbledore's office. The old headmaster looked up when he entered.

"We need to call a meeting." Snape said.

"We just had one the other night, Severus." Dumbledore said, tiredly.

"No, I learned something our members should be aware of."

"And this is..?"

"Potter's alive."

"We know that, Severus." Dumbledore answered. "Ms. Granger has evidence he was in Diagon Alley a couple of days ago."

"Headmaster, I know where he is." Snape said, hurriedly.

Dumbledore looked intrigued. "We'll alert only certain members and hold an emergency meeting. You can tell us all there what you know."

Snape nodded and Dumbledore went to work, seemingly gaining more energy. Snape watched him worriedly and wondered how much longer he could keep this up.

One Hour Later

Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Arthur and Molly Weasly sat around the long table in Grimmauld Place. Everyone looked half asleep and talked amongst themselves and drank coffee to wake themselves up, waiting for Dumbledore to arrive.

"How have you been Lily?" Molly asked. The younger woman looked at her, the pain evident in her emerald green eyes.

"As well as I can be." She said. James looked over at her and grabbed her hand under the table, squeezing it gently. She turned to him and gave him a small smile. Molly watched the two and remembered when she and Arthur were that young, she smiled fondly to herself.

The door opened and everyone watched as Dumbledore walked in with Snape at his heels.

Lily heard James grown and Sirius leaned into James and whispered something to him that caused her husband to chuckle and bit his lip to keep from burst out laughing.

"What?" Lily asked.

"Nothing Dear." He said, with a snicker. She looked over at Sirius and he had a very familiar mischievous look in his eyes. _Uh-ho_. She thought.

"I am sure you are all wondering why I woke you up and have called you here at this hour." Dumbledore stated.

"This better not be because he discovered something better than chocolate." Lily heard Sirius grumble. James looked over at him and laughed. Dumbledore had once called the order together to tell them about the wonders of chocolate back when it originally was formed.

"Severus, I ask you to relay what you have told me." Dumbledore continued, ignoring or not hearing Sirius's comment.

"Oh, even better. Snivellus found something better than chocolate." Sirius muttered. Lily glared at him and elbowed James.

"Ow! Hey!" James protested, and smacked Sirius in the back of the head at Lily's look.

"If we are all done acting like children, I will continue." Snape stated. James and Sirius looked like they were going to laugh. Remus leaned over to Lily and muttered quietly "How do you put up with them?" She rolled her eyes.

"As I'm sure all of you here know, I attend both sides meeting and report what Voldemort is planning to Dumbledore. I found out tonight, that he was holding someone hostage. Someone he thought the Order would risk a lot to rescue."

"Elvis?!" Sirius asked, excitedly.

"Shut up Padfoot. Who?" Remus asked, wanting to know what Snape knew.

"That's what's going to come as a shock, to most of you." Snape glanced at Sirius and Remus.

Everyone looked at the pair. Sirius looked guilty and Remus looked both sheepish and guilty.

"Will you just tell us already? Save the drama Snivellus." James said, looking Snape in the eye.

"Your son's alive. Voldemort had him the whole time."

Silence filled the room. Lily closed her eyes, absorbing the information. _Your Son's alive. You're sons alive._ Replayed over and over again in her head. She felt tears prick her eyes. _My son's alive, and we're going to get him back. _

"You knew!" James yelled, looking at Sirius and Remus.

"Prongs, calm down-"

"No, I don't think I will Moony. You're supposed to be my friends! How long have you been lying to me? Siri? Remus?" James asked, his voice getting lower as the thought of betrayal came to his mind. _They're no better than Peter_. He thought.

"It wasn't like that James. We only knew for a couple of days. We were waiting on good, solid proof before we told you." Sirius answered.

"James, if you want to be angry at someone, is mad at me. Sirius wanted to tell you. I talked him out of it. I did feel it was right to get your hopes up, just to find out he was dead anyway."

"It wasn't your choice to make Moony." James said, angrily.

"James." Lily said, speaking up. Her voice was very low, but heard her as if she were shouting. He turned to her. "We'll talk about this later. For now, I want to know everything Snape knows."

James gave his friends one last glare and sat down, ignoring them. Lily looked apologetically over James at Sirius and Remus. She knew they had their best interests in mind; but she, like James, felt they should be told them Harry was possibly still alive. She wasn't going to fault them for it though. She probably would have done the same thing. Sirius and Remus have been good friends to them and more than proved their loyalty after..Peter. James was just being James and she knew the Marauders would be talking again before the week was out.

Everyone had remained silent during James's outburst. Most adverted their eyes and tried to talk quietly.

"Anyway, after questioning and getting information, I found Harry was found, alive but unconscious around the area by the Hogwarts train after the attack. When he woke up, he had no memory. Voldemort saw this as an opportunity to 'reprogram' Harry into a death eater. The 'test' of the method was the failed Diagon Alley attack. Dumbledore and I found that Harry only used magic once during that incident and it was to save Ms. Granger." Snape reported.

"So, what does Voldemort plan now?" Arthur asked.

"To use Harry as a trap to get rid of Dumbledore and the Potters." Snape answered, looking pointedly at James.

"Snivellus, you have to be insane to think I will sit back and do nothing." James said, looking up directly into Snape's dark eyes.

"I'm just informing what I know."

"It would be suicide to attack Voldemort on his grounds." Remus said, and the Weasly's nodded in agreement.

"So what do we do?" James demanded. "We didn't join the order to sit back and do nothing as innocent lives die."

"We are doing something. We're trying to plan our next move." Arthur said.

"The longer we wait, the more likely Voldemort will just kill him." James pointed out.

"Does anyone have an idea as what to do?" Lily asked, looking up to everyone's faces. No one spoke up.

"It maybe advisable to wait. Get more information." Remus said, tentatively. James scoffed.

"James, you have to-"

"Don't talk to me Sirius." James said, not looking at his friend. Sirius looked sadly at James and away again, hoping his best friend who was more like family to him, would forgive him.

"James-"

"I can't just sit and wait and wonder if Voldemort's torturing our son. Lily, I can't believe you're even going to ask me to."

"If Voldemort really wanted to kill Harry, he would have done it before, and this discussion would not be necessary." She said, and added "This is just what he wants. He wants us to go in and rescue Harry. James, we have to be smart with this. It won't do Harry any good if we get killed trying to rescue him." She added the last part, hoping it would get through his thick skull and make him think rationally. She'd never seen James so ticked off. Well, there was the whole Peter incident, but that was understandable. She was mad as all hell too and Peter wasn't even her friend.

"Severus, how easy would it be to rescue Harry?"  
"Hard. Death eaters are everywhere." Snape answered. Dumbledore looked thoughtful.

"What if you broke him out?" Dumbledore asked.

"WHAT?!" James, Lily, Snape, Sirius, and Remus said simultaneously.

"He could get in undetected," Dumbledore said and looked thoughtful for a moment. "James, do you still have the invisibility cloak?"

James nodded.

"Good. As long as Severus agrees, he could sneak Harry out, using the cloak."

Everyone gaped at the old headmaster. It was so simple, it was scary.

"Fine, but I'm going to." James said.

"You can't!" Snape objected.

"Watch me." James said, threateningly. Lily looked at her husband, thoroughly afraid of him. She had never seen James like this. She's seen him upset, mad, egotistical, happy, ect, but never this…she didn't even know how to classify what it was he was acting like. She didn't like it and it scared her.

"It's tricky enough to get Harry out. I will not have to worry about another." Snape argued.

"He's right. It's a risk to get Harry out undetected, let alone making sure James gets in and out too." Arthur said.

"If you don't trust me that much, then we can meet in the small town around there." Snape said to James, very reluctantly.

"Fine." James said.

"When are you doing this?" Mrs. Weasly asked.

"Tomorrow night. Late." Snape said, looking at James.

"Should we let the children know?" Arthur asked.

"No, if it isn't a success…"

Everyone nodded and sat in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Moments later, everyone stood up and left, hoping everyone for the next day went well.


	26. Chapter 25: The Rescue

**A/N: **_Hey Guys!_ I hope you all consider this chapter as my Christmas present to you all! J I wanted to post a couple before Christmas, but it's looking like this is going to be the only one. Who knows, I maybe able to post something on Friday, but I'm so busy with work and such I can't promise anything; but we'll see. If I can't post again, than, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and I know for a fact I'll post before the New Year. J

**Writingjustforfun: **All in good time my friend, J though I have to say, you'll see about how it's going to play out in this chapter.  
**SB: **You'll be finding out shortly.

**BookWorm1990: **Glad you liked the chapter and your penguin. See-ya tomorrow! J

**TheDarkOne8703: **The sad thing is…I actually believe that. looks incredulously around and shakes head pitifully If I don't see ya before, I can't wait till New Years Eve!!!!

**Chapter 25 – The Rescue**

**July ****2 11:48 p.m.**

James reluctantly handed Snape his invisibility cloak. Snape draped it over his arm and looked smugly at James.

"I'll meet you here with or without your son."

"It better be with, Snivellus." James threatened, glaring at him. Snape glared back and dissappropirated with a pop.

James sighed and sat down at the table at the twenty four hour bar. _Why am I even trusting him? _James wondered. _Snivellus isn't going to want to help me; he doesn't like Harry and I know for sure he hates me. _He hung his head and took a sip of his butter beer. _Please if there is a God, let him bring my son back to me._

Destany crept around the corner, careful not to be too noisy. No one was around but she knew that could change in a heartbeat. She walked quickly to Harry's door and pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and studied it momentarily. She then slipped it into the lock as she had seen, and done, a hundred times.

"Come on," She muttered after moments of fiddling with the lock. She felt it give and was about to open the door.

"What are you doing?" A voice said. Destany jumped and spun around. A tall man with deathly pale skin and long greasy black hair that look as if it had never been washed in the mans, best estimated, thirty-odd years, stood in front of her. He had an elaborate…cloak draped over his arm.

Destany grinned sweetly and said "I got locked out of my room. Happens all the time. I always loose my key."

"Get out of here." The man said.

"No. I want to see my friend." Destany answered determinedly.

"Go now or I won't tell the Spray's their daughter is a common thief." The mean man said, glaring down at the girl.

"You're going to need to do better than that to intimidate me. And you know what? Have you ever heard of a _shower_? How about _shampoo_? I'll get you some if I need to. It's not that expensive. Oh and the black hair and black clothes with the pale skin? Yeah, vampirism is so out of date." Snape continued to glare at her. "And you think I'm intimidated by the Sprays? I'm used to them punishing me. So go ahead, tell them. See what I care. I'm not leaving my friend."

"Move out of my way."

Destany grinned triumphantly and stepped aside. The man glanced around and pulled out his wand. She heard him mutter something, but she wasn't really paying attention and a glow emanated from his wand. He reached out and opened the door. Destany shoved him out of the way and entered the room.

"Harry! How've you-"

The man grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. All that could be heard from her was indistinct muttering.

"Hey! Let her go!" Harry yelled.

"Sh!" Snape yelled, shutting the door behind him. He felt something wet touch his hand and he let go of Destany with a look of disgust. Destany shuddered, and made a face like she had just eaten something terrible. "Harry, I know you probably don't remember me, but you have to trust me. I'm trying to get you out of here." Snape explained.

Harry regarded him silently.

"Why should I trust you?" He asked. Snape unfolded the invisibility cloak and tossed it to Harry. Harry caught it and examined it.

"I don't have time for all of this," Snape muttered.

"I can't leave Destany here." Harry said, not knowing for sure what would happen to his new found friend, but he had an idea.

"OK, fine, whatever."  
"How are we going to get out of here?" Harry asked.

"We're going to sneak you out."

"How? This place is crawling with-"

"If you would just shut up for a moment, I would explain it to you. What you're holding there is your father's invisibility cloak. Anyone who wears it is invisible to any outside observer. You can still see things and people, but they cannot see you. You must keep it on at all times until I tell you to. Do not speak and do not loose sight of me."

"What about-"

"If your girlfriend must come along then fine. She should fit with you under the cloak." Snape said, not wanting to deal with this. He still couldn't believe he was helping a Potter, _again_!

Harry looked at the cloak in uncertainty again. Destany moved over next to him and he pulled the cloak over his head and Destany moved under it with him.

"Don't say anything and stay out of anyone's way." Snape reminded them and opened the door. He stepped out into the hallway and glanced around before motioning for them to follow. They closed the door and Snape locked it behind them with a simple spell.

The group made their way through the halls at a slightly slower pace than normal. It was going smoothly and surprisingly, no one made their way by them. Snape turned quickly around another corner and was met by Bellatrix.

"Professor, have you seen Potter? Or the Spray's brat?"

Snape looked directly at her, seeing the amusement in the situation and perhaps, for the first time, cracking a joke. "I can honestly say, Bellatrix, that I have not seen them."

Bellatrix studied him for a moment suspiciously and continued on her way. Snape continued, wondering if they already knew Potter was gone or if it was some trick Bella was pulling.

They made it safely out of the house, surprisingly without too many confrontations or conflicts, which Snape suspected would happen at this late hour. Once outside, Snape quickened his pace and headed towards the forest, knowing he could easily loose any death eater on his trail that way; being careful not to get hit with flying branches or breaking too many to not give away their path.

When Snape felt they were a safe enough distance away, he stopped and stood by a tree and waited as Harry and Destany uncovered themselves from the cloak. Harry folded it neatly and went to give it back to Snape.

"Keep it. It's your fathers." Snape said, though he longed to take it and keep it for himself; he knew what Potter was capable of and though he was no longer a weak teenager, Potter and Black both had more power than he could ever have.

Harry draped it over his arm and looked back at Snape.

"We need to con"

"Wait. I want to know why I should keep trusting you. They obviously know you and are not suspicious of your presence."

"Harry, we do not have the time to discuss this." Snape said and glanced around. "Unless you wish Voldemort to catch us all. Then we will all die a very slow and painful death. Quite frankly, I wish to live a bit longer." Snape said harshly and added "We need to go and go now." Snape began to walk off to his right. Destany and Harry looked at each other uncertainly and shrugged. The two teenagers followed the professor through the woods. What else could they do?

James Potter glanced at his watch for the thousandth time. He was starting to get worried. Snape had been gone for just over two hours. _Something went wrong_. James thought, getting up from his seat and pacing again. The Dripping Drinks was empty except for a few drunks and himself. _What if something happened?_ He wondered. _What if all of this was a trap and I just lost my son out of my own selfish reasons? No, it can't be a mistake. Not if it gets me Harry back. _

The door opened with the bell ringing pleasantly. James stopped abruptly and looked up. He felt his heart sink. It wasn't Harry. He'd even be happy to see Snivellus standing there. It was just a young girl, no younger than ten.

"Excuse me, sir?" She asked, very timidly.

"Yes?" James snapped, giving the girl half of his attention. The other half was on the door.

"A P-P-Professor Snape asked m-m-me to"

"To what?!" James yelled impatiently, giving the girl his full undivided attention.

"He…he said it may…be…s-s-safer to meet…o-outside th-th-the village." The girl stammered out. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of crumpled parchment and handed it to James. He snatched it quickly from her hands and read the note to himself. He cursed silently and thanked the girl before disappropriating away into the night.

James reappeared on the other side of the village. He turned to look behind him and jogged quickly down the dirt path that led into a meadow with a stream alongside it. James followed the stream as Snape had instructed, contemplating changing into the Stag and all the ways he could torture the former Slytherin if this did not go as 'planned'.

"James." A voice said. James gaze hardened as he stopped in his tracks and turned around. It was a voice that taunted him night and day. A voice he once trusted. Once confided to. One that betrayed him so easily it made his head spin and turned his world upside down. Not even fifteen feet away from him stood the man James hated as much if not more than Voldemort himself. Peter Pettigrew; along with him, Bellatrix Lestrange. Sirius's much hated cousin.

Before James could react, Bellatrix tried to hit him with the immobulus curse, but James ducked and saw it hit an owl in the tree behind him; pulling out his wand as he did so.

_I don't have time for this now. _James thought. He quickly glanced around but kept the pair in his line of sight; something he learned from years of being an auror. As much as he wanted to make Peter scream, to beg for mercy, to kill him painfully for his betrayal, it was going to have to wait until next time. And he would make sure there would be a next time. Peter was not going to get away with this easily.

He quickly called out the first spell that came to mind and ran before he could see the outcome. He knew it would not distract them long, even if it hit them, but it was enough to bid him some time. As he ran, he kept glancing back over his shoulder, expecting to see at least Bellatrix running behind him or a brown rat running along the path. He stopped and quickly tore a piece of his robes off and hung it on a patch of bush, hoping they would be stupid enough to think he would be dumb enough to let something like that happen. He quickly turned into a Stag and walked carefully away a few steps so his tracks would not show up as well in the dirt. After getting ahead a few feet, he took off at a gallop.

"Come on, he went that way!" Bellatrix said, pointing to a piece of cloth that had to be from James Potter's robes.

"I don't think so Bella. James is an animagus. He could have-"

"He would not have had time to plant this and transform before we got here. He didn't have that much of a lead Pettigrew." Bellatrix said and started off.

Peter glanced at the ground for a moment, hoping to see a change of footprints. Then again, He knew Prongs was smarter than that. He probably walked slowly a few feet before galloping off. He sighed and followed Bellatrix, knowing James would not head that way; but knowing he was safer following her and facing the Dark Lord than James Potter.

"He should be here by now." Snape muttered, glancing around and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Maybe he got lost." Destany suggested. Snape scowled

"It would be like a Potter to screw things up." Snape said, looking pointedly at Harry. A Stag came into view at that moment. Snape heard it approach and looked over to face it. Snape glared at the beast and it blew out a breath of air and morphed back into James.

"Really Snivellus, real intimidating." James said. Snape looked shocked at first.

"What took you so long?" He asked.

"Pettigrew and Lestrange." James answered. Snape rolled his eyes.

"And you felt it better to get revenge than-"

"I never said I stopped to take them. I tricked them and now I'm here."

"Some things never change." Snape muttered. James glared at him.

"I had nothing to do with that!" James said, feeling offended. After all, he had saved him from likely death. Not even a slytherin deserved to be hit by the walloping willow. Though it was tempting to let him get walloped by it now.

"Never said you did."

The men glared at each other.

"Oh grow up Snivellus. That was what? 15 years ago?" Snape said nothing. "We should probably be moving. They'll figure it out sooner or later I didn't go the other direction." James said and added quickly while looking around "Where's Harry?" _I can't believe I got so lost in arguing with Snivellus about that stupid time Sirius decided it would be funny to let Snape run into Moony on one of his days. You would think he'd be thankful that I saved him, but no…stop it! Harry, remember, your son! _He scolded himself. He glanced around and saw Harry standing off to the side a distance away, watching the two men as if they were complete strangers.

James walked over to his son, slowly, like one would approach a wild animal.

"Harry, I know you probably don't remember me, and that's ok. I'm-"

"My father." Harry finished. James looked into his son's emerald eyes and was still surprised on how much they reminded him of Lily's. He searched for any sign of recognition but found none. Harry was just stating a fact.

"Professor Snape said we were going to meet you." Harry explained. James nodded, not really sure what to say.

"Harry, I know you've got to have a lot of questions, and are confused, but we have bad people after us right now. We need to get out of here." James said and watched as Harry slowly nodded.

"Come on already." Snape said, starting to continue. James followed and Harry walked next to his father.

"Wait. What about Destany?"

James stopped and saw where his son was looking at his friend. Destany was standing even further off to the side, trying not to intrude. James glanced at Snape.

"We can't leave her here." James said. Snape shrugged and kept walking.

"Come on Destany." Harry said she ran to catch up to them. Harry paused for a second and withdrew the invisibility cloak. "Here." He said, handing it to James. James looked at it with a small smile on his face.

"You keep it. You'll find more use for it than I will." James said, though it did come in handy during some raids. Harry looked uncertain. "If I need it for anything, I'll let you know. Deal?" Harry nodded and looked at the cloak and then up into his father's brown eyes.

"Thanks dad." He said, and James ruffled his hair. The group continued on in silence; in for a long night ahead of them.


	27. Chapter 26: The Reunion

**A/N**: Hope you all Enjoyed Your Christmas! Just as a side note: In the beginning of this story, Destany is based off of my sister. Harry is like how I feel when I wake up, like a zombie and my sister walks…no bounces down the stairs and I'm staring at her like 'No, too early'. :D I felt it would be good to have someone perky, plus I wanted to kind of rant about my sister….killed two birds with one stone ;D

**Stella Blu**: Actually, I had wrote Destany out. Though now I think I have another idea for her...we'll see.

**writingjustforfun:** I'm glad you liked the ending. Some of the things I added as an after thought. But, as I stated earlier, I did not want to give the potters the "perfect" family. I thought doing that was unrealistic. I personally do not find the ending depressing...but there are still changes to be made; so we will have to find out how those changes effect everything in the long run.

**TheDarkOne8703**: Here's "more". Thanks for giving me Kingdom Hospital back. I know it was hard for you to part from it.

**Chapter 26- ****Reunion**

**July 3 **

They had walked all night and Harry was exhausted and his mind was reeling. Here he was, back where he belonged, and he still felt like an outsider; like he did not belong. No one had said a word the whole night as they walked, afraid the death eaters would find them. As they walked, Harry could feel himself nodding off. If took everything he had to stay awake.

"Not much further," James said to his son, looking as tired as he felt.

Harry wanted to nod in acknowledgement, but could not find the energy to move his head. Harry glanced over at Destany; the teenager was practically skipping with energy. Harry scowled at her. Ten minutes ago, she had looked like a resurrected zombie, now she looked like she had not been up all night, being chased by Voldemort's death eaters, but rather like she was asleep all night; or had drank about 50,000 cups of coffee. Harry hated her at that moment. _How does she do it?_ He wondered.

"What?" Destany asked, noticing Harry's scowl. Her voice was perky and full of energy like her steps. Harry just continued to glare at her and he noticed his dad was also glaring at her. Destany was smart and decided to pretend she was trudging along, though he could tell she just wanted to skip merrily. _Women. _He thought and mentally shook his head.

Harry glanced forward and saw a house loom before them. It looked old and run down; almost like the mansions you saw on Scooby Doo. That are old and creepy from lack of care and partially from age. As they approached, the gate in front proclaimed it was #12 Grimmauld Place. Now how anyone would know it was located on a 'street' called 'Grimmauld Place' was beyond him. Being as they passed no road signs, nor were on a road for that matter.

_Must be a lot name or something. _He thought.

"We live here?" Harry asked James.

"No, we're supposed to meet some people here." James said, and Harry thought he heard relief in his voice.

The group trudged through the front gate and up to the house. Destany had taken up humming a song and Harry was certain the moment he had the energy to, he was going to kill her; Slowly.

Harry suddenly felt nervous and instinctfully stayed close to his father. Snape walked in first, then James, followed by Harry and finally, Destany.

"You're back!" A woman's voice yelled. Harry watched as a red-headed woman rushed up and hugged his father. Harry recognized her from his dream. She was his mother, only a few years older. She quickly let go of his father and shoved him out of the way and pulled Harry into a bone-crushing hug. Harry swore he could feel ribs breaking in his chest and tried to squeak out something but couldn't find the ability to.

"Lily, you're choking the poor boy!" His dad said. She loosened up from her hug, but did not pull away. Harry found that he could, in fact, breathe again, not very well, but breathing was breathing and Harry took what he could get. She looked at him apologetically and smiled. Her emerald eyes were sparkling with happiness and he swore he saw tears in her eyes. She reached up and smoothed his hair down and Harry felt himself involuntarily rolling his eyes at her.

Lily continued to mother him as he glanced over her shoulder to see the others seated around a table. Professor Snape had sat down with the group. There was an old man with a long white beard seated at the head of the table. He nodded his head slightly and had a twinkle in his eye as he noticed Harry studying him. To his left was an empty seat, where Harry guessed, his mother had flown from. To the left of that sat the dark haired man from another memory; the one who told him about Peter Pettigrew. Next to him was the man he had run into, literally, at the village. Across from them was a homely couple. The woman was kind looking and short. The man was taller and reminded Harry of a nerd.

**"**Harry?" His mother had said.

"Hu?" He asked, snapping back to attention.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked quietly. Harry studied her eyes and saw how hopeful she looked. He felt his heart break. He really did not want to disappoint her, but at the same time, he didn't want to lie to her. He sighed.

"Kind of." He said, looking apologetically at her. She hugged him again, less bone-crushing, more one of comfort.

"It's ok. I was just wondering." She whispered to him, though he knew it did break her heart knowing her own son did not remember her. She let go of Harry and looked up at James. He shrugged; not really knowing what to do.

"Harry, I'd like to re-introduce you to everyone.." James said, putting a hand on his shoulder and walking over to his friends. James pointed at everyone as he said their names and what relation they had to Harry; which he felt grateful for. "Headmaster Dumbledore; he's like the principle at your school and runs a secret order that fights against Voldemort, Sirius" Harry noticed a bit of anger in his voice when he said the name. Harry made a mental note to ask about it later "You're godfather." Sirius felt hurt James did not refer to him as James's best friend. "Remus, friend of the family and was your professor at school for awhile, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasly, you're best friend Ron's parents…and you already had the _pleasure_ of meeting Professor Snape."

Harry burned all the names and faces into his memory, careful to make sure he would remember them this time. Harry looked over at Remus.

"I saw you…before." He said. Remus nodded.

"I thought it was you…but you disguised yourself so well I thought I was seeing what I wanted to see." Remus explained. Harry nodded. James glared at Remus, but all could see he looked kind of pleased Harry could use magic so well. Harry then thought of Destany. _Where is she? _He wondered and looked back at the doorway. Destany stood in the back of the room, looking at the dirt-covered walls, trying not to intrude.

"Destany," Harry said and she looked back at him. All the adults followed Harry's gaze.

"Amazing" Professor Dumbledore said, getting up from his seat and walking over to Destany to study her closer. "I thought she had been killed." He said, almost to himself.

Destany gave Dumbledore a creeped out look and took a step back away from him.

"Who is she?" Sirius demanded. Remus smacked the back of his head. (A/N: Ya know, I just now realized I tend to make Sirius get smacked a few times…eh, oh well. smacks Sirius again for good measure ;D )

"OW! Hey! I was just speaking what everyone was thinking!" Sirius muttered, rubbing the back of his head. Harry noticed Snape was looking rather pleased.

"It's ok. My name's Destany; and I do not know my real last name. But currently, I am considered to be a 'Spray' though that could change any day now." Destany answered, feeling awkward getting so much attention.

"I remember hearing something about the death eater's foster child." Mr. Weasly stated, looking thoughtful.

"She's much more than that. I'm so sorry my dear, but we had all thought you had died." Dumbledore stated and all eyes feel on the old man. "Destany is the last living heir of Ravenclaw; one of the founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" Dumbledore clarified for both teenagers.

"I thought the Ravenclaw line was gone decades ago." Remus said.

"The family had moved to the America's in the turn of the century. None of them continued to study at Hogwarts; which started the rumor they were all killed. The family changed their name to Ravin shortly after. They began to continue their magic practice in the American schools; partly to keep a low profile. They kept in touch with myself and the ministry so we knew where they were. Destany's mother, Miranda, was killed in a muggle accident just days after giving birth to her daughter. Everyone had assumed she died with her."

All eyes were now on Destany; everyone out of sympathy but only Harry's showed concern. He knew for 16 years she had thought she was abandoned by her family. Now only to learn that her family was killed. Destany looked ok with the news. Her gaze looked saddened; probably because all hope of meeting her mother was now shattered. She looked at Dumbledore hopefully for a moment.

"And my father?"

"We do not know who he was. You're birth records do not have a father listed on them."

Destany nodded and looked down away from the sympathetic gazes. She looked back up to meet Dumbledore's eyes and said simply "Thank you." And was silent again, lost in her own thoughts.

Harry suddenly felt his exhaustion hit him again and tried to suppress a yawn. As much as he wanted to learn more; both about his and Destany's pasts, his tired brain could only take so much. He winced as a sharp pain came from his scar. It made his whole head throb in pain. He closed his eyes; hoping by doing so the pain would recede. If anything, it made it worst.

_How? _He wondered through his muddled brain. _Does a scar cause pain and headaches? _

He felt someone by him and opened his eyes to see his mother looking at him worriedly.

"Harry?" She said, but he barely heard her. Though she was only standing about a foot away, it sounded as if she were at one end of a tunnel and he was at the other. His vision was getting blurry around the edges and his mind got foggy. His legs felt weak as jelly and the last thing he remembered was his mother's concerned face and someone grabbing him as he blacked out.

A/N: dun dun dun! Is the suspense killing you? I'll make you deal…review and I'll post more…though I'll post more anyway. (but ssshhh, you didn't hear that ;D ) On a side note, if you haven't seen it yet, go and see Phantom of the Opera! It's amazing! They did such a good job on that film. They kept the beauty and everything of it…ah, you just can't explain it. It's just awesome and way beyond awesome even. :D On another note, I hope you all had a great Christmas! I did! "Santa" got me a pre-ordered H.P. and the Half Blood Prince :D Can't wait till July 16th now!!!!!!! Anywho, please review and I'll start working on the next chapter. (Though some changes are now going to be made, as I think I'm going to leave Destany in now…)

Stella: Finally what you've been waiting for; the significance of Destany! :D Hope you liked it!


	28. Chapter 27: Shattered Reality

**A/N: **Actually, this chapter is not anything I originally wrote. This just came to me in a moment of inspiration. I thought it might be a good idea to see how Destany is dealing with the news of her parents and such. This part of the story is pretty much all Destany. Sorry, you'll just hafta wait a couple more days to find out what happens to Harry. I really was not expecting to post this soon, so this is a treat for all you. :D Though I do think I might get, now chapter 28, posted tomorrow. No promises though. I hope you all enjoy this. It's short, but the next chapter is long anyway. I'm also sorry if Ron seems out of character. I try, really I do…but that's as good as it's going to get after 45 minutes of staring at the computer screen trying to re-work everything.

**Writingjustforfun**You'll find out later about the cause of Harry's blackout. Glad you liked the last chapter. Actually, it's funny you mention the Hufflepuffs in your review. That was my debate for the longest time. Should Destany be Destany Ravenclaw or Destany Hufflepuff? I thought, in the end, that Destany Ravenclaw had a better ring to it. Plus, if I remember right, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had more personality traits in common…though I guess I should have checked that part out before I made the final decision.

And to my newest reviewer…

**charmedlily** I'm glad you like the story. For the most part, I usually believe my writing is a load of crap; so I really enjoy getting reviews of people liking what I write. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

**Chapter 27- Shattered Reality**

**Same Day**

Destany sat alone as the adults fussed over Harry. She was worried for her friend but she had to be alone. She closed her eyes; hoping to shut out the outside world and live in the fantasy that some day she would meet her parents.

That hope was now shattered. Shattered like every other hope she had ever had. Destany saw the man who James had introduced as Remus come down the stairs. The man looked tired and weary.

"How's Harry?" She asked him. Remus looked over at her, startled. Like he had forgotten she was even there. _The story of my life._She thought bitterly.

"He'll be ok…we think." Remus answered, coming over to her. "How are you?" He asked, and seemed genuinely concerned. Destany shrugged, not ready to bear her soul to a 30-something year old man. Possibly older.

"I'll be fine." She said, her voice steady and confident. It startled Destany. She knew she really should not be surprised. She was usually able to stay stoic or pleasant about any situation; but this time, she felt hopeless. Like the world was spinning round and round and there was no switch to make it stop.

"Are you sure?" He asked her and she nodded.

"Thanks for the concern, though." She said. He gave her a small smile that read he did not really believe her and left her alone again. She sighed and got up from her seat on the well worn and dusty couch. She didn't like being inside. It made her feel claustrophobic. She snuck to the door and sat down on the porch, glad for the cool afternoon air.

She knew she should try and get some rest. Being up for well over 24 hours now was not good for her health, but she knew she'd never be able to get some sleep. Not now. Not when her thoughts were so out of control that she felt hopeless. Scared. Alone.

"Uh, hi" a voice said. Destany turned her head to see a tall, red-head boy standing there. He wore jeans and a t-shirt.

"Hi." Destany said, not really wanting to deal with another person.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked, sitting down next to her without waiting for an answer.

"Sure, why not." She said, sarcastically. He looked at her and she sighed. "I'm sorry. I just…for lack of better words, I just had my world turned upside down."

"You want to talk about it?" He asked, looking into her grey eyes.

"No, not really," She said and added "Name's Destany."

"Ron." He said and she nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Ah, the best friend." She said and Ron looked at her confused. "Harry's friend right? I came here with him." She explained. Ron nodded.

Destany looked away from Ron and back at the ground a few feet in front of her. Her mind conjured up the picture she always had of her mother. Tall and beautiful, with raven-colored hair and clear-blue eyes. She could almost reach out and touch the image. It was that clear to her. After years of seeing her in dreams and in waking moments, the image shimmered and disappeared. Just like her hope of ever meeting her in person. Funny how life is sometimes.

_ When will I ever feel normal again? _She wondered, feeling tears prick her eyes.

"Hey, are you ok?" Ron asked her and she shook her head, lifting her hands to cover her eyes. She hated to cry. She hated the feeling of weakness involved with it; hated the way it made her nose run and her head hurt, but she could not make it stop. Could not stop the river of sorrow come from her eyes and she actually welcomed it. She felt Ron's arm come across her shoulders. His hand rubbed her shoulder in comfort. She sniffed slightly and glanced up at him.

His gaze was full of genuine concern for her. Though he barely knew her. She felt the tears sting her eyes again and she reached up to violently wipe them away.

"God, I hate crying. I'm sorry." She said, her voice cracking slightly.

"It's ok." He said, she actually believed for a moment he actually might be right. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? It might help." He added.

"Are you sure you want to listen to my problems? You barely know me and I'm sure you'd much rather go and see how your friend is doing."

"What if I said I want to get to know you?" Ron asked her. Destany did not have an answer for that. She glanced at him suspiciously and sighed.

"OK then, where should I start?"

"How about the beginning?" Ron advised and she chuckled. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing. It just seems I usually help others with their problems. Not too many people help me with mine." She confided. Ron nodded and she sighed.

"Well it all started when…" She began and Ron listened throughout her story, feeling sorry for the orphaned girl.


	29. Chapter 28: Fond Memories

**A/N: **OK, I really was not going to post today, but you can thank me finding the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack for this post. I figured since I'm all happy and excited, I'd share my happiness by posting another chapter! :D sings think of me Hope you all enjoy. This chapter was the original chapter 27. Though more changes are now going to be made.

**Stella: **Glad you liked that chapter. Like I said, It was kind of spur of the moment. :D

**Writingjustforfun: **actually, Destany was on the backburner. I just didn't know what else to do with her and then I got another idea…so now she's back into the plot and now that changes everything else I had wrote groans in frustration Oh well. Glad you liked it though. You read my mind exactly. ;) Glad you liked Ron in the last chapter. It was the best of my ability, I kind of wanted him to be more…Ronish, but at the same time, I wanted something else to happen, so I de-Ron-ished him..if that makes any sense..lol!

And now…What you have all been waiting for…Back to Harry!

**Chapter 28- Fond Memories**

**Same Day**

"Is he ok?" A young voice asked.

"We think so." Another voice answered. "Pomfrey checked him out and-"

"He's waking up!" The first voice said excitedly.

Harry felt his eyes flutter open. Everything in the room was a blur of color. Someone handed him his glasses and he slipped them on with a "Thanks."

His head still hurt, but it was now down to a dull throb. _What happened? _Harry wondered as he glanced around his room.

Sitting on the end of his bed was his mother and next to him was Hermione.

"How are you feeling?" His mother asked him.

"Like someone ran my head into a brick wall," Harry said and added "repeatedly." His mom and Hermione got looks of sympathy on their faces.

"What happened?" He asked, not having a clear memory of how he ended up in this room.

"Harry, it's a long and complicated explanation. Just rest and we'll talk about it later." Lily said and stood up. "I have to go and let everyone know you are ok." She said and started to the door. She stopped and turned back to look at him. "Are you sure you're ok?" She asked again. Harry nodded and immediately regretted the action. He winced slightly as his mom left the room.

"How are you really feeling Harry?" Hermione asked, tentatively. He was silent for a moment and looked into her brown eyes.

"Confused." He answered, and that was the truth. For about the last month, he was told James Potter was the enemy, Tom was the good guy. Though he had suspected differently, it was still mind reeling.

"Anything I can do to help?" She asked, looking like she desperately wanted to help him.

"I know some things. It's just…hard to process everything. Like how did everyone know where I was? How did I even end up there? and why when I saw." Harry stopped talking abruptly. _Do not finish that thought. Whatever you do, do not finish that thought. _Harry thought, panicking slightly. Hermione was supposed to be his friend, and here he was wanting to further their relationship. He scowled slightly.

"What? What were you going to say?" She asked, searching his eyes. He looked away from her and the wall across from him suddenly became very interesting.

"Nothing. Forget it." He said, still not able to bring himself to look at her. He knew if he did he'd blurt everything out and feel like a jerk.

Hermione looked disappointed that he wouldn't talk to her and said "OK." She didn't want to fight with him over it. If he did not want to complete his thought, she wasn't going to make him. Besides, she knew he'd tell her eventually. Though it hurt to know he couldn't tell her, she knew he barely remembered her and she'd have to be patient with her friend.

"What all do you remember?" Hermione asked, changing the subject. She saw Harry frown as he thought of this.

"I only remember snippets of memories really. There's only one I really know, and even that is confusing," He said and looked over at her again, "when Sirius told us Scabbers was really Peter. Other than that, not much."

"Maybe I can help you…make sense of everything, I mean." She suggested, hoping he'd let her and not shut her out like he usually did.

Harry looked at her uncertainly for a moment and finally said "you sure you don't mind?"

"What are friends for?" She said, with a smile. _Who knows, maybe more. _She added silently

"Is that what we are?" Harry asked her, noticing for the hundredth time how beautiful she was. is. Her hair was pulled up into a half ponytail while the rest fell onto her back. She wore blue jeans and a light-colored t-shirt. At Hermione's puzzled look, he added "friends?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, feeling her heart skip. _Just maybe_, she began to think and mentally shook herself. _Get real Hermione, he's just trying to figure things out_. She scolded herself.

"Never mind, forget it." Harry said, looking away from her again.

Hermione frowned at him. She wanted to press him further, but decided against it. _Stop it Hermione, he barely remembers you, how is he supposed to know what your relationship was? Is_. She corrected.

"OK." She said, uncertainly, and silence filled the room. It wasn't the comfortable silence, but the exact opposite. It could not get anymore awkward if they tried.

"Hermione?" Harry said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. He sat up and leaned against the headboard. She looked into his emerald eyes and wondered how she got on without him.

"Can you tell me about…well, me?" He asked, sounding not very confident.

"What do you want to know?" She asked.

"Everything, anything. I just..want to know about who I wa- am." Harry said, honestly.

"Like…what exactly?" She asked, not sure what to talk about.

"I don't know, whatever comes to mind." Harry said and shrugged.

_Like how incredibly hot you like right now? _Hermione thought. _No, bad Hermione! _She scowled herself, and wondered why she was doing that much more all the suddenly. _He's your friend. He needs you to be you…not some…horny teenager. Get real!_

"Ok…um…" She said, trying to get her mind off of anything but what she was thinking.

"How about how we met?" Harry suggested, saving her.

"Oh, actually, there's no amusing story with that. Neville Longbottom lost his toad. The poor kids always loosing things. His Grandmother once got him a rememberall, it lights up when you forget things, and he lost that." She said, with a small laugh. Harry smiled. "So, anyway, I was walking around the Hogwarts train, trying to help Neville find his stupid toad. And I poked my head into Ron and yours train compartment. We talked shortly, and I went on my way." She said, and added "I don't think you guys liked me that much at first."

"I doubt that. I'm sure I did." Harry said. She smiled.

"At least, Ron did not like me. He only started putting up with me after you two saved me from a troll."

"A troll?" Harry asked, incredulously.

"Yes, a troll." She said, smiling fondly at the memory. "We found out later that our DADA teacher let it loose..long story."

"We've got time." Harry stated, wanting to know how Hermione ran into a troll, and more importantly, how he ended up saving her. She laughed slightly and began to tell him the story of their first year at Hogwarts.


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Hope you guys all had a wonderful new year! Hope it was as fun as mine. Though I could have done without my friends getting "drunk" off of sparkling grape juice…sigh oh well. It was fun. Glad you all like Ron and Destany. I really wanted to test the waters to see if anyone would hate it and it seems you all like the idea as much as I do! :D OK, onto other news:

**TheDarkOne: **Here's the more that I've already written that you want me to type and post so you can read it, as I won't part with my notebook. Sorry.

**Writingjustforfun**: Glad you liked the last chapter. :D There's a reason I didn't want Harry to remember right away. You'll see why. ;D I have no problem updating. Though I hope to post this chapter tonight and hopefully another tomorrow…crosses fingers all depends on what my family's doing.

**Stella Blu: **lol! I knew what you meant. Glad you liked the last couple of chapters.

And now…for chapter 29… Hope you all enjoy. It was fun to write. :D

**Chapter 29**

**Same Day**

"…so, the three-headed dog, fluffy,"

"Whoa, wait wait wait. The three headed dogs name was _fluffy?!_" Harry asked, looking astounded. Hermione nodded and Harry chuckled. "Why would you name a three-headed dog, Fluffy?"

"Ask Hagrid." Hermione said simply. Harry shook his head and was seriously amused by this.

There was a knock at the door and Harry glanced over to see a red-haired boy standing there.

"Ron!" Hermione said and got up to greet her friend. Harry watched the two, feeling his heart sink. He really liked Hermione. She was pretty and not only that, she was smart, kind, and he loved the sound of her laugh and her smile made his troubles disappear. She didn't act differently around him because he could not remember. She treated him like the friend she remembered and that meant a lot to him. He was sure it could not be easy for her.

He saw the two turn and look back over at Harry.

"I guess you're Ron." Harry said with an amused smile, trying desperately to not show how upset he was. Ron nodded and walked into the room with Hermione. She re-took her seat at the edge of his bed and Ron stood beside her.

"How are you feeling Harry?" Ron asked.

"I feel fine. But mum wants me to stay up here 'and rest,'" Harry said, rolling his eyes.

"Mum's know best." Ron said, hoping to be helpful. Harry looked at Ron in false horror.

"No, not you too!" He said very dramatically with a dead-pan expression. Hermione huffed beside him. Ron laughed.

"She'd curse me if I didn't say it." He said, and pointed his thumb over at Hermione.

"Would not!" Hermione said, irritated.

"I'd believe it." Harry commented, smiling at Hermione. She glared at them.

"You two are impossible! Harry doesn't even remember you and here you two go and team up against me." She said, pouting slightly. Ron grinned and walked to the other side of the bed. He sat down for a second and put an arm around Harry's shoulders. Harry watched him out of the corner of his eye.

"That's right, us men-folk need to stick together. And, Mate, for the record since you probably don't remember.." Ron said, and stage-whispered to Harry "that girl's crazy." Harry laughed amusedly and Hermione huffed again.

"I am not crazy!" She argued.

"Uh, Hermione? How many times have you read Hogwarts: A History?" Ron asked. Before she could answer, and another voice answered.

"I think that's being ambitious. I mean, if you're going to be living somewhere, it might be a good idea to know some history."

The group looked up to see Destany standing in the doorway.

"No, Destany, you don't understand. She's read it like…at least five times. At least once a year. Probably more." Ron said, looking at Harry and Destany.

"OK, that's a bit obsessive." Destany agreed.

"And you are…?" Hermione asked, studying the girl.

"Destany Spray…well I guess it's actually Ravin…or Ravenclaw, for that matter. Take your pick." She said, with a shrug. Destany looked over at Harry and stepped timidly into the room. "How are you feeling?" She asked, with an uncertain look. She was sure he was probably tired of hearing and answering the question, but she was genuinely concerned for her first real friend.

"I'm doing ok. Thanks." Harry said, and noted how Ron looked at his new friend. _He likes her. _Harry thought, with a small smile. He noticed the same look on Destany's face as she glanced over at Ron. He made a mental note to ask Destany…or Ron about it later.

"Hey! How come you didn't bite her head off?" Ron asked, taking false offence.

"Because she's special." Harry said, winking at Destany. She grinned. Hermione glared at Destany and studied her. Harry leaned over to Hermione upon seeing her look and whispered to her "We're just friends. Now Ron on the other hand…" He trailed off and glanced over at his friends. Hermione followed his gaze and saw what he meant. Destany and Ron had somehow moved closer together. Ron seemed to be standing protectively beside her. Harry studied the two, wondering what the cause of Ron's actions was. He noticed as slight…sadness in Destany that wasn't usually present.

"I guess the real question would be, are you ok Des?" Harry asked her, wondering if she'd tell him what was wrong.

"It's nothing." She said, and Harry knew it was something big. Destany wasn't much of one to talk about her problems. Harry noted as Ron touched her arm in a gesture of comfort and Destany looked at him with a small smile on her face. _Yup, Ronnikins and Destany are…wait a minute? Ronnikins? Where did that come from? _He pondered, and mentally shook himself. Destany and Ron fell into a small conversation and Harry looked at Hermione.

"See what I mean?" He asked, keeping his voice low so Ron or Destany would not notice. Hermione watched them and nodded. She was frowning slightly. "What's wrong?"

"It's just..I can't believe how much Ron has grown up this year. I just now realized it." She said, and looked into his eyes. His emerald eyes that she thought she would never see again. She wanted to lean over and kiss him; wanted to say "Harry, I love you" but she knew it wasn't the time. She couldn't lay all of this on him now.

"OK, I know I'm starting to sound repetitive, but are you ok?" He asked. She sighed.

"I just," She paused. She wanted to tell him the truth, wanted to tell him how much he really meant to her. _When will the right time be here? _She wondered in frustration. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again." She answered truthfully, looking into his eyes to gage his reaction.

She watched as he looked down from her, almost as if he blamed himself for the accident.

"I'm sorry. If I would have known.."

"How could you have?" She demanded, trying to catch his eyes again, but failing miserable as he would look away from her every time she managed to succeed. "We didn't know it was going to happen. If anything, I should be sorry. I knew you were alive. I didn't do enough to find you." She admitted. She bit her bottom lip uncertainly and Harry raised his eyes to her, a puzzled look on his face.

"How could you have known?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"I just knew." She said simply. Harry looked away from her, trying to make sense of what she just told him.

"You had no reason to believe I was alive. Even my parents thought I was dead." Harry pointed out. He watched her reaction and she looked back up at him, feeling more uncertain and nervous than ever. She knew she'd have to tell him. She couldn't handle his rejection.

"I could feel it; somewhere inside of me, I knew you were alive..because," She said, and lost her nerve. She looked away from him and he placed his hand under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze.

"Because…?" He inquired, desperately wanting to hear what he thought she was going to say.

"Because I-"

"Hey guys!" Both Harry and Hermione jumped slightly and turned to look at Ron. He and Destany were holding hands and Harry wondered if it was a conscious action. "Want to find out if we can bail Harry out? Go play some Quiddich or something?" Ron asked. Harry grinned at Ron.

"Though I don't know what Quiddich is, it sounds better than being stuck in this stuffy room," Harry said brightly, and looked over at Hermione, Ron, and Destany and added "Though the company's not that bad." Ron grinned.

"Well of course. I'm here." Destany joked. The group chuckled.

"Come on, let's go and bug the crap out of Lily!" Ron said to Destany and they ran out of the room to try and bail their friend out. At the same time, Destany worked out in her mind a good escape plan, just in case plan A did not work.

Once they left the room, Harry looked over at Hermione. She looked away from him and stood up.

"I should go and make sure they don't go and do something stupid." She said and got up. She started to leave when Harry grabbed her hand.

"We will finish this conversation." He said, and Hermione looked down at their joined hands and wondered if there would be a time they would be joined out of a show of love; not just friendship. She swallowed nervously and nodded before leaving the room.


	31. Chapter 30: Destany

**A/N**: Hey guys! I am so sorry it's been awhile! I had to re-write the next few chapters because what I originally wrote is now being pushed back two or three chapters. :C It's taking longer than I thought it was. Unfortunately, it has taken from Monday to Thursday to complete writing chapter 30. I have 31 complete and am working on 32. I will try and post a couple of times this weekend, but I have a feeling I will only be posting on the weekends until I get the new installments complete. Which should only be 4 or 5 chapters. Haven't decided yet. I pretty much want to do one chapter on each person…get their perspective and all. sigh I got the hard people out of the way and hopefully, the rest will come out easier. Hope you all enjoy!

**Stella Blu: **all in good time. Well, my theory about the prophecy is, they don't really know for certain if that is what will totally happen. Dumbledore doesn't know Harry's completely invincible. I mean, most people would die from impact from a fall from a train track that was over a bridge pretty high up…so that's my thinking on the whole thing. Dumbledore and Harry do have a chat about the prophesy later on when I pick up with Harry. I might address that in there to help clear some things up…thanks for the question. : D

**writingjustforfun**: I feel so bad! You comment on my updates and it's been a week since I last updated! I just had such a hard time getting this stupid chapter wrote. Luckily chapter 31 came easier to write :D. On a note, my friends got drunk from 'sparkling grape juice' I personally dislike the stuff. I just got hyper off of lots of root beer and sprite (not mixed together makes face)

**DarkOne: **How can I forget the little pen? Remember: "ash hoolllle." ;) Hope you like the newest chapter.

Chapter 30

After 'begging and pleading' with Sirius and James, Ron and Destany managed to convince them to allow Harry out of his room and play some Quiddich. Destany did not want to play, being, she had no clue what Quiddich was and decided to watch. Ron, Sirius, and James quickly explained the concepts to Harry, who caught on quickly and decided to play two-on-two; James and Harry vs. Ron and Sirius. Destany sat in the backyard with Hermione, watching the game with interest. She had to admit, the game did look fun and she wasn't one to play sports, or watch them, for that matter.

"So, you and Ron…" Hermione inquired. Destany smirked.

"So, you and Harry…" Destany shot back in the same tone Hermione used.

"Are just friends." Hermione finished. Destany looked at her skeptically.

"You cannot tell me you are not in love with him."

"I never said I wasn't." Hermione stated with a look of sadness. Destany noted how Hermione looked back at the boys, a look of worry in her eyes.

"OK, well you love him, it's obvious he loves you-"

"He barely remembers me." Hermione pointed out.

"Real love doesn't need to be consciously remembered. You feel it whether you remember it or not. It just is." Destany said, glancing over at Ron. Hermione sighed. "Why don't you go for it?" Destany asked, after a pause.

"Because, Harry needs his friends, not a hormone driven teenager." Destany smiled at the description and tried to visualize Hermione being hormone driven and almost laughed.

"So, what's going on with you and Ron?" Hermione asked again. Destany smiled again.

"Right now, friends with a possibility of more."

"Just a possibility?" Hermione asked, raising her eyebrow.

"OK, fine, we'll probably be snogging by tomorrow. Happy?" Destany said, getting annoyed.

"And you and Harry?" Hermione asked. Destany looked at Hermione like she was insane.

"Harry's a friend. Actually, no, I lied. He's more like a brother." Destany said and noted Hermione's slight frown. "At first, maybe there was some potential…whatever. I just don't feel it with him. Besides, he's clearly madly in love with you." Destany pointed it out.

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked.

"Sometimes, it just takes an outside observer to put things into perspective." Destany stated.

"It's complicated." Hermione said, looking away from Destany and to the grass.

"It's never complicated_. You _are _making _it complicated." Destany pointed out.

"If you say so." Hermione said, and turned her eyes back to the game.

"Why are you so worried about them? It's just a game." Destany asked.

"You haven't been at Hogwarts." She said simply.

"Infamous Hogwarts." Destany said, and rolled her eyes. That seemed to be everyone's answer.

"You said you're last name was Ravenclaw?"

"I guess. Dumbledore told me. I grew up in foster homes for most of my life."

"That's sad. I wonder...how did you end up with that death eater family?" Hermione said, looking thoughtful.

"My guess? They knew who I was and did not want me in Hogwarts…or anywhere else for that matter."

"But how would they know…?" Hermione said, almost like she was asking herself more than Destany. Destany glared slightly at her.

"What's with all the questions?" She demanded, starting to get annoyed. "I mean, I'm ok with the whole 'what's your relationship with my best friends' I get that. Really, I do. But how am I supposed to know their intentions? I try to be nice to you and you dig up all the shit I'm trying to forget."

Hermione stared at Destany after her outburst. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be.."

"Forget it." Destany said, forcing the thoughts to a dark corner in her mind. _I will not think about them. Not now. Not when I'm finally starting to be happy. To feel whole_. _I won't let them take this from me. They can have everything else, but not my happiness. _

Destany had to admit to herself, she was afraid the Spray's would find her. She already made 2, maybe 3 friends, and very possibly has a boyfriend and was most likely going to find out she really is a witch. Dumbledore had offered her this morning to come to Hogwarts early and study up on Magic. He said if she caught on quick enough, he might be able to bump her up a few years; if she agreed to get study help from Hermione should a problem arise. Though Destany doubted Hermione knew this yet, but she had a distinct impression the girl would not mind showing off her unusually large brain.

Destany looked back at the game to see Harry and James land on the ground, big grins on their faces. Ron and Sirius were scowling at them. The group walked over to the girls, arguing about the game.

"Prongs, you cheated!" Sirius accused.

"Padfoot, we won fair and square."

"Rematch!" Sirius said, looking at the others. James just shook his head pitifully and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Destany looked at the two, still finding the resemblance uncanny. If she did not know any better, she would swear James was Harry's older brother. He did not act, or look, like he was married and a father of a 16-year old boy.

"Whatever you say Siri." Harry said, smiling. Ron glared at his friend.

"Admit it, you cheated!" Sirius said, looking at Harry.

"Beginners luck?" Harry offered, a smirk on his face that matched the one's on James's own.

"Boys, boys, boys. " Destany said, and glanced at the group. "How about…best two out of three?" She suggested. Sirius stepped over to Destany and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I knew I let her stay for a reason." He said, giving Destany a wink. Before anyone else could comment, the back door slammed shut and an angry voice yelled out.

"Harry James Potter! Why are you not in bed!?" Lily demanded, stepping quickly over to the group. Lily eyed James and Sirius, who were looking very interested at the grass. Harry glanced over at James, giving him a slightly dirty look before looking innocent and saying

"Dad said I could." James looked up and gave Harry a glare. Harry shrugged. Destany felt amused over the whole situation.

"James! Harry should be resting! Not out playing Quiddich! Especially when Death Eaters are after-"

"Lily!" James whined. "Death eaters are always after this family." James defended, stating the truth.

"He could have been hurt." Lily huffed at him.

"I'm fine mom." Harry said, sounding irritated.

"That's beside the point. I told you to rest."

"I was going crazy!"

"Yeah, I mean, the place is not one anyone wants to stay in for long." Sirius pointed out, shuddering slightly at the thought of his own 'stay' at Grimmauld Place.

Destany took the time to drown out the conversation and study lily while she continued to argue with her husband and his best friend. Besides being red in anger, Lily Potter is a pretty woman. She had the same emerald eyes Harry had, which seemed about the only physical attribute they shared, with fire-y red hair. Lily slowly seemed to calm down some-what during the argument. The agreement turned out that Harry could not go outside Grimmauld place until they were sure he was alright. Lily then ordered the men to clean up the yard before dinner which was in five minutes and turned on her heel and went back inside.

Destany watched her go, slightly impressed. James and Sirius quickly rushed about the yard, making sure everything got back in its rightful place or else they knew all hell would break loose.

The teenagers decided to make their way inside to avoid cleaning.

"Cheater." Destany heard Ron whisper to Harry. Harry rolled his eyes and said nothing.

"You know Ron, that was a clean game." Hermione stated, defending Harry. Ron shook his head.

"I think you did great Ron." Destany whispered quietly to him. Ron looked over at her and smiled.

They walked into the house and to the table and sat down, Destany and Ron next to each other on one side, Harry and Hermione across from them to make it easier to talk as a group. A couple of moments later, James and Sirius walked in; everyone else had left earlier that day. Dumbledore had felt it best for the Potters to stay at Grimmauld Place so it would be harder to locate them.

Dinner went by uneventfully. Destany left the table after finishing her meal and walked into another room of the house. She stepped over to the window and looked outside. The layers of dust on the sills were not lost on her, but she was more worried about what was, or was not, outside at that moment.

It was dark outside now and she felt a shiver go down her spine. All through dinner she had a bad feeling something bad would happen. She didn't know why; maybe she was being paranoid, but she couldn't stop the feeling and the longer time lapsed, the stronger it became. She almost expected to see one of the Death Eaters outside the window staring back at her, but there was nothing but blackness and fog. _They're out there. And they are looking for us. You can't ever completely escape them because they are everywhere. _She shuddered at the thought.

Something touched her shoulder and Destany spun around, careful to keep her balance, and tensed up in fear. She visibly relaxed when she was greeted by Ron's calm face. She quickly threw her arms around him and buried her head in his chest, feeling slightly better, but that sense of dread still did not go away.

"Are you ok?" He asked, circling his arms around her.

"I'm fine." Destany said, turning her head to glance back out the window.

"It's ok. You're safe here you know." Ron told her and Destany looked up into his eyes, not wanting to be out of his embrace just yet.

"I don't know why I feel so worried…it's just, I keep expecting to see them somewhere out there." Destany said and fought the urge to turn back to the window. Ron frowned at her actions and let go of her and took her hands. He led her away from the window and into yet another room that was windowless, which Destany found odd and sat down on the couch. Destany sighed and sat down next to him. Ron put his arm around her and Destany laid her head on his shoulder. They sat there in comfortable silence and Destany still wondered why she felt what she did. But she did know one thing, she felt safer sitting here with Ron than she had felt all day.

"Thank you." Destany said her voice barely above a whisper.

"You're welcome." Ron said, and kissed the top of her head lightly and they sat in silence again and neither made a move to be away from each other. Destany finally tilted her head up so she could look at him.

"Do you really think we're safe here?" she asked.

"Do you really think Lily and James would be here if it wasn't?" Ron pointed out.

"I guess…I just can't shake this feeling like something's going to happen. Something bad." Destany said and sighed. "I'm sorry; I'm being a real downer. I'll try and-"

"It's fine. I just know this place wouldn't be used what it's used for if Dumbledore didn't think it wasn't safe." Ron said and Destany remained silent, letting Ron think he calmed her fear. She shoved all thoughts out of her head, deciding she'd talk to one of the adults about it later. She looked up at Ron, giving him her best puppy-dog expression and changed the subject.

"Will you teach me to play Quiddich?"  
"Why?"

"Because it looks fun!" Destany said, like Ron was an idiot, but her puppy-dog expression and pout returned seconds later.

"You just want to beat me." Ron said, teasingly.

"Well…that too." Destany said a smile on her face. Ron glared at her mockingly and Destany continued to look at him innocently.

"Hermione said you guys had an argument earlier?" Ron inquired. Destany lost her expression abruptly and sat up.

"I don't think she likes me that much." Destany admitted.

"Why?" Ron asked, tilting his head.

"Because…she just…I don't know how to explain it. I just felt like she was giving me the third degree about you and Harry and my past..It was just too weird." Destany said, and looked tentatively at Ron.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to be-"

"It's ok. I'm just saying, I don't think she likes me. I'm fine with that. I'm not going to cry over it and I will tell you this; as long as she stays civil to me, I'll be nice to her. Just because she's your friend." Destany said and gaged Ron's reaction.

"Thank you." Ron said.

"Of course." Destany stated, and added "I think what bugged me the most was when she grilled me on my relationship with you, then Harry, and she didn't seemed satisfied with the true answer."

"What is our relationship?" Ron inquired playfully.

"Well, I told her 'friends with a possibility for more'." Destany answered.

"Only a possibility?" Ron inquired with a pout. Destany grinned.

"Well…" She paused and continued "I _guess_, it could be more than a possibility…" She added playfully, moving a bit closer to Ron again.

"How much more?" Ron asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Destany asked, not daring to be the first to make the move.

"Maybe I will…" Ron said, looking into her eyes. Destany watched as Ron moved slightly closer to her and then pause uncertainly.

"Ron, if you're going to kiss me, just get it over with." Destany said, a Cheshire cat grin on her face. Ron blushed and Destany managed to contain her giggles. She decided to let poor Ron out of his misery and kissed him on the lips.

It wasn't a long kiss and not very passionate, just sweet and what they needed. They pulled apart slightly and stared into each other's eyes. They heard a clearing of a throat and Destany jumped away from Ron and looked down at the couch, her black hair falling like a curtain over her blushing face. Ron glanced up to meet Harry and Hermione standing in the doorway, looking thoroughly amused.

"Hey mate." Harry said and Ron glared at him at they walked further into the room.

"You got some crappy timing." Ron muttered and Harry laughed at him. Destany kept looking down and felt her face go closer to normal. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and looked up, brushing the hair from her face.

"What do you guys want?" Destany demanded.

"Well, we were going to see if you guys wanted to go and do something…" Hermione said, trailing off.

"But if you're busy…" Harry said, picking it up for Hermione. Ron glared at him and Destany rolled her eyes. Ron glanced over at Destany, the question evident in his gaze. Destany shrugged in a 'I don't care' fashion.

"Sure, why not?" Ron said and Destany felt slightly disappointed. They teenagers got up and left the room; Ron and Hermione arguing about playing Exploding Snap and something else.

**Final Note: **You guys actually got lucky I was able to post this…I almost forgot the notebook in my locker at school! I had to go on a field trip to a Japanese restaurant and eat in a tatami room, really cool, but anyway, I threw everything but my homework in by book bag and left. I got on the bus on the way home and was going to work on the story a bit instead of talking to my acquaintances, and behold, the notebook disappeared!!! I searched everywhere for it and I got back to the school and luckily, found that and my math homework I thought I lost earlier that day! :D I hope you all enjoy and I promise I'll try and post tomorrow and Sunday since It's been while. I might only be able to post one of the days because I don't have chapter 32 complete yet…but I don't see there being a problem with the next few chapters. I'm seeing it will probably be around 40 now…I'm currently thinking it's probably going to go to 35…but I'm still coming up with creative ideas and I may just have to write a sequel…sighs in frustration we'll see after the final chapter is up how everyone feels about the possibility.

Final call for any unanswered things to go in the story…except I did realize I kinda forgot about Hedwig…she will be covered shortly. :D


	32. Chapter 31: Ron

**A/N: **Hey all! Hope you enjoy this next chapter!

**Writingjustforfun**Oh good, I feel better now knowing I'm still on top ;D. Harry's coming up…I believe in 2 or 3 chapters. I might bump one of his up though…if demand is high enough. ;D We'll just hafta see about the foreshadowing…but I think I want to do something with it before the end. And of course, lol over the root beer. I agree, whatever works and whatever makes you happy is the fundamental of life..though you do need some not so great stuff to make life complete and all that jazz…:D.

Since no one else reviewed this time…onto the story! See if you can catch onto something in the beginning. ;D

**Chapter 31**

**July 4th **

Ron, Destany, Harry, and Hermione stood in the Kings Cross Train Station. They walked hurriedly to the hidden platform 9 3/4. Before walking through the invisible barrier, the group glanced around to make sure no muggles were watching them. Finding the area strangely deserted, they walked through the platform, one-by-one.

When Ron stepped through behind Destany, he was greeted by the chaos of Wizards and Witches running around and screaming. Ron looked at Harry. Harry looked over at Hermione. Destany watched the crowd wondering what caused such mass hysteria.

"Why does everyone look at-"

"Bomb! There's a Bomb! Everyone out!"

Everyone seemed to forget they were witches and wizards and could easily destroy the bomb or locate it elsewhere, but they were too scared to do anything and the mass ran towards the group who stood in front of the barrier. The teens turned and tried to run back through but ran straight into the wall.

"It won't open!" Destany yelled, realizing that was stating the obvious and felt quite stupid at that point. The mob got angrier and yelled things at the teens.

"There has to be some way…" Hermione said, trailing off, looking at the gateway.

"AAAAIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!" Ron screamed, and the trio looked over at him. "Spider." He said, in a small squeaky voice, looking horrified.

"RON! Spiders are the least of you're worries." Destany said, glancing back at the growing angry mob of wizards and witches surrounding them.

"B-but they are…big…ha-hairy-"

"Hey!" Harry said, in mock offense

"a-and have e-eight l-l-legs!" Ron shuddered and was unable to say no more. A voice came over the PA system.

"evil laugh Hello All. It is me, me who activated the bomb and made it impossible for you all to leave." Several adults cowered.

"it's…he who must not be named!" They yelled in terror.

"No, I am not the dark lord." The voice said, sounding annoyed.

"It's Draco Malfoy!" Harry and Hermione yelled. The crowd looked at them confused.

"The bomb will go off in precisely 5 minutes. Don't try and appropriate, you won't be able to. The platform will not allow anyone to leave either. And now, I leave you. Good day all." Then there was a pause of silence followed by a "OH SHIT! I'm stuck in here too!"

The angry mob left the quartet and ran off to find Draco Malfoy.

"We're all gonna diiiiiiieeeeee!" Ron yelled, looking at Harry. "Harry! What do we do?!" Ron demanded.

"Why me?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"Because! You're the hero!"

"I am?"

"Yes!" Ron insisted. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh…well…I guess we find the bomb then." Harry said, shrugging, and looking back at his friends. They all nodded in agreement and Ron felt something jump on his chest. Hard.

"AHHHHH!" He screamed, and bolted up in bed. He heard a hissing noise and looked down to see Crookshanks lying on the floor next to his bed. Ron took a few deep calming breaths, muttering something about the damn cat and looked across the room to see Harry pretending to be interested in the book he was reading. The corners of his mouth were turned up and he bit his bottom lip to keep himself from cracking up.

"Harry, I know you're laughing." Ron said and was surprised when Harry stopped trying to hide it and howled with laughter. "It's not funny. That stupid cat scared the living-"

"Crookshanks! Are you all right? What did Ron do to you?" Hermione cooed to the oversized cat. Ron glared at the cat and Hermione glared at him. Harry finally stopped laughing and went back to his book, snickering every once-in-awhile.

"I did nothing to your cat. He scared me! I tell you that cat is evil!"

"He is not! He just wanted some attention." Hermione said, cuddling the cat.

"Harry!" Harry looked up at Ron. "Be a friend, help me out."

"I'm staying out of this one." Harry said, going back to his book. Ron scowled at his friend. and muttered "some friend you are." Harry sighed and without looking up from his book he stated

"The cat did jump on Ron when he was asleep. Though Ron probably should have been up earlier and it would not have happened." Harry said and turned the page to continue reading.

"Harry! You're studying!" Hermione said, looking over at him. She dropped the cat and walked over to see what he was reading. She frowned when she saw it.

"What?" Harry asked at her disappointed expression.

Ron sighed and got up. He really did not want to get lectured by Hermione again, though it was amusing to see her annoyed.

"Harry, is breakfast ready yet?" Ron asked, and Harry glanced over at him.

"Uh, I don't think Mum and Dad are even up yet." Harry said and looked back at the book again.

"What are you reading?" Ron asked, wondering what had his friend's full attention. Harry laughed and held up the book for Ron to see. Ron grinned proudly at the well worn Quiddich Throughout The Ages book.

"And you two think I'm bad." Hermione muttered.

"Hey! I don't remember reading it. What's your excuse?" Harry defended and looked back at the book for Ron and Hermione to continue the argument.

Ron snuck out before Hermione could start and changed from his pajamas in the bathroom. When he walked back into the bedroom, Destany had joined the two H's. Ron smiled, slightly amused by this and sat down on his bed next to Destany.

"Mornin'." Ron said, and Destany grunted a reply.

"She's grumpy. Watch out." Harry stage whispered and added "It's the first time I've ever seen her grumpy."

Destany muttered something and Ron decided not to ask her to repeat it.

"Why is everyone hanging out in here?" Ron asked.

"Well Ron…it all starts when a man and a woman.." Harry was unable to finish his sentence because Hermione smacked him, hard, on the arm. "Ow!" Harry complained, rubbing his arm.

"It was you torturing my cat." Hermione stated.

"How did he get here?" Ron asked.

"I owl-ed my…OH! Harry!" Hermione said, running from the room. Harry watched her go in confusion. Harry looked at Ron who looked just as confused.

"That girl..she's crazy, I tell you." Ron stated and Harry shook his head.

"Yes Ron, I know." Harry said and Destany snapped herself out of her stupor and looked around.

"Where'd Hermione go?" She asked. Ron and Harry shrugged. Harry sighed and folded down the corner of his book, knowing he wasn't going to get anymore accomplished with his friends around. Hermione came back in with Hedwig resting on her arm. When the snowy owl saw Harry, she flew over to him.

"you're parents told me to hold onto Hedwig." Hermione said and Harry reached up to pet his owl when she bit him, hard on the hand.

"Hey!" Harry said, glaring back at his owl who was also glaring at him.

"I think she's mad at me." Harry said and everyone laughed. "thanks Hermione." Hermione beamed and the teens continued to talk about anything and everything.

**Final A/N: **OK, just so you know the story with the whole King's Cross thing…Yes, that was Ron's Dream. I know, it's weird and all, but hey, aren't most dreams? Anywho, the story behind it was I pulled out the notebook at lunch to work on the scene I originally had for the dream sequence. It was going to be "Hogsmeade Weekend" with Ron and Destany, and one of my friends(loova) asked "what are you writing?" So, I answer "The opening scene to chapter 31. It's all in my head."

And she reads this story and inquires what it could be. Well, one of my other friends (beach)says…and I quote

"Bam! They're all in a train station. Everyone's running around in mass hysteria. Something is being yeld about a bomb."

Me: "yes, and Draco Malfoy comes over the P.A. and yells"

Beach: "I am the evil mastermind, fear me all! You cannot escape my cleverly planned barriers!"

Me: "so, Draco goes to escape when…gasps he can't, because he's trapped inside too!"

So then Loova's sitting there fascinated and I look at Beach and say "I think I'm going to use that." So yeah, that's how that whole messed up scene came in. I was going to open it with a different beginning one of my other friends (hope) suggested…she said I should have said "Scene opens. You see a man standing there. Just an ordinary man. He's perfectly still. Unmoving. You can barely see him breathe and he yells "BAM!" with jazz hands." :D That would have been great, but I was afraid everyone would wonder what I smoke in my spare time…so yeah, I did without that.

And that is how I ended up putting that dream in. Hope you all don't think it was too retarted. :D


	33. Chapter 32: Order Meeting

**A/N: **I am proud to say…I have finished HPatFM! :D I will not be changing anything else. Though my friends, god love them, are all whining that I should make a chapter entitled 'Hedwig's Rant' because "I didn't cover everyone's pov!" rolls eyes I swear they all think I'm on crack or something. Oh well. It is officially 37 chapters and will not be posting any more than that. Though I think it may still be open for a sequel…but I don't know. Can't think about that yet. :D Anywho, I hope you all enjoy the story. I promise posts will come more frequent now that I have the story completely wrote now. Though I can't promise much frequently because it is a week until midterms. I really should be studying, but I figure, if I don't know the crap now, I probably won't know it no matter how long I stare at the text book.

I also want to note, I do switch to first person in a couple of the chapters to gain more perspective. I think most of them are involved with Harry's chapters in the end, I will worn you when I'm switching POV's and who's POV it is wrote in so it does not result in confusion.

**Writingjustforfun: **Glad you liked the dream sequence. It amused me after my good for nothing friends gave me the idea. The only good idea, I may add. (Note: See above if you did not read my mindless babbling; D ). LOL! Gatta love siblings! Hope you like this chapter

**TheDarkOne8703:** I think you did say you liked Ron. Thanks for the tip though…now I can use that for a b-day gift idea. laughs evilly and we'll see about that argument. ;D I figured you'd like the dream. It almost reminds me of those x-files stories we wrote way back when…and I thought I did add you to my favorites. Really, I did. I'll go add you after I post this.

And since I've seen to have lost all other reviewers sniff sniff Thanks loads to those who have remained reviewing and onto the newest installment!

**Chapter 32**

**Same Day**

Lily, James, and Sirius were trying to get the Grimmauld Place dust under control for the order meeting that night.

"Why do we even bother? Every speck of dust we clean up, 1,000 more appear. The place is just plain cursed with dust." James whined. Sirius looked at James like he just told him the meaning of life.

"That explains a lot!" He said. Lily glared at the two friends and rolled her eyes. The front door opened and Remus stepped in, looking slightly paler than usual. A sign that the full moon would be approaching.

"You OK mate?" Sirius asked him.

"Nothing I'm not used to." Remus stated, sadly. "You guys need anything?" He asked, looking around the place with an eyebrow raised slightly.

"Just getting everything ready for tonight." Lily answered.

"How's Harry?" Remus asked.

"Still doesn't remember, but other than that, he seems fine." James said, glancing tentatively over at Lily. He knew his wife was a tid bit over protective of Harry. He had to admit, there were times he was too. Anyone would be if the most evil wizard alive was after their son and wanted him dead for reasons only the sick twisted wizard knew. But some times, she could be too over protective. The poor kid needed to have some fun.

"We want Dumbledore to get Pomfrey here to make sure he's not on a memory charm." Lily stated, looking concerned.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." James said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

The rest of the order members started to arrive at that moment. Everyone sat down in their usual seats. Dumbledore was the last to arrive with Professor McGonagall (does anyone else wonder if the two of them are secretly dating in the series???).

Dumbledore took his usual place at the head of the table and called the group to Order and addressed everyone.

"Hello all. Is there anything anyone wants to address?"

"Albus, I believe we should skip to the Death Eater activity." McGonagall suggested.

"First things first." Dumbledore said, looking over at Sirius, Lily, and James. "How's Harry?" the headmaster inquired.

"He's fin-"

"He's not fine!" Lily interrupted James. "He doesn't remember anything."

"Those things take time, Lily." Tonks said, and Lily shot the younger woman a glare.

"We don't have time." Lily pointed out.

"She's right. I mean, Harry's more important that any of us realize." Remus stated and noted Snape's frown.

"Yes, but pushing Harry to remember can't be good for the boy either." Tonks stated.

"We don't even know if he will remember." Snape spoke up, looking annoyed with the conversation topic.

"True…we don't know the nature of the amnesia, but"

"Albus, we should have Madam Pomfrey check for memory charms." Lily stated. "If he's under a charm, at least we'll know."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

"I'll contact her in the morning." Dumbledore stated and glanced at his other members. No one said anything. "Moving on then…as you all know, Death Eater activity has been on the rise after recent events…" Dumbledore paused and reached into his pocket. "Lemon Drop anyone?" He offered, the table, and they all sighed and rolled their eyes at Dumbledore's antics. Lily swore that sometimes that man had ADD greater than Sirius Black. And that was saying something. Dumbledore popped a lemon drop in his mouth; looking slightly disappointed no one else wanted one and continued. "Voldemort seems to be working hard to find both Harry and Destany. We all need to be on the alert."

"Speaking of the Spray Girl, what are we going to do with her?" Snape asked.

"Destany Ravin will be coming to Hogwarts early as an independent study. She will then test into a year at the end of summer and be sorted with the other first years. Though I suspect she will be in Ravenclaw..being who her ancestors are." Dumbledore stated and looked at his professors. "It would be appreciated if Hogwarts Professors would offer the girl some assistance."

Both professors nodded but Snape looked more annoyed than usual.

The meeting continued late into the night, discussing the next course of action and the rise in recent Death Eater activity.


	34. Chapter 33: Midnight Ponderings

**A/N: **First things first. I want to say, the majority of this chapter is in First Person. I wanted to get into the head of one of the characters and give their thoughts and I did not feel third person would do it justice. So, hence the first person. I really did not want to switch POV's in the story, but I felt it necessary for this chapter and another section in a later chapter.

Secondly, I want to have another poll. One of my friends is helping me write Hedwig's Rant. Which is pretty much a bash against Harry Potter in general…we have Hedwig whom we see as a misunderstood godfather-type, Fawkes who is the arrogant jerk, Crookshanks the gangsta cat, and Rita Skeeter the 'poor' interviewer. I was not going to post it, but I am being told by my friends that I must. So, I am taking votes. I will warn you, it has literally no plot and is just straight up humor. It's not for the serious people or those who lack in a sense of humor. Again, you will miss nothing to the story if you do not read it, because really, the only thing it reflects in the story is Hedwig staying a month at Hermione's. That's it. The rest…well…I'll just leave it like that. So, Votes please? (Btw: all of my friends, you're votes are minimal to me because I know what you want already, plus most of you have read it or know the contents).

Onto other News! Elektra is a great movie. I recommend it.

**Writingjustforfun**: I know, I really did not think this story was ever going to end! :D I know what you mean about reviewers. That's why I refer in my A/N's as multiples or a group of people because I have a hunch there are readers who are not reviewing glares at them I do the same thing when I'm busy.

About my A/N's, I address my reviewers in them because I saw someone else do it in a story I read a long time ago, and it did feel nice to know the author appreciated the comments and commented back on them. So I felt I would do that also.

About Dumbledore with ADD, I really did not know how else to describe his personality. I find myself thinking of that when I read the books, so I thought, eh, why not? Glad to know I'm not the only one who ponders about Dumbledore and McGonagall. And my friends all told me 'we told you so' when I told them you liked the idea of Hedwig's Rant. LOL  
**Stella Blu**: I just want to say first, I saw you posted a couple new stories and I haven't had time to R/R because finals are next week and I'm typing this when I should be studying. Eh, oh well. It's ok about the reviewing, I really don't mind, I was just trying to get people to feel bad and review for me. LOL! I guess it didn't work…oh well. Glad to know you like it and Yes, it's really almost over. cries my baby's almost complete wipes away tears ;D  
Anywho, enough about my babblings and onto the real reason you are all here (though I'm sure you love my babblings and quirky life, but hey, I can only do so much, right? And see? Here I go again babbling when I say I'm going to stop and I think I ate too much popcorn at the movies and I'm really done now so I'm going to go on and type the story now.)

**Chapter 33: ****Midnight**** Ponderings**

I lay on my bed, wide awake, listening to Ron's loud snoring. The Order meeting had ended moments before and I could hear my parents and Sirius cleaning up the drinks everyone had had.

I know I was one of their topics of conversation. I know I am disappointing everyone the longer I can't remember. I try to remember, it's just…it's like there's a road block and every time I get close to it, the cops step up and tell you to get out of the area. And I retreat again.

I'm getting the feeling everyone's hiding something from me; like why my scar mysteriously caused me to black out, and when I look at the old headmaster I see looks of pity and just maybe, remorse.

So now I lay here, trying to make sense of my life. I guess the darkness is the best time to reflect; since I fee like I'm living in with the lights out in my head and the little guy who holds my memories locked up and went on vacation to the Caribbean, or something like that, forgetting that I need him to leave me the keys. To let me tend to the place in his absence.

My friends all try to pretend nothing is wrong. But I can see the looks of sympathy in their gazes. Especially Hermione. I just want to go to sleep and wake up with the lights on in my head, just once. I don't think it's that unusual of a request.

I know I should be happy I'm alive. From what I've been told, I should be dead. I can't help but think part of me is dead anyway.

I've began to read about amnesia lately. The books I'm reading are all medical with a book cover from another book. I don't want them to know my fears. To know I'm afraid of not remembering. The same fear they all have. I sigh. Anyway, my point is from what the books say, there are several theories based on head injuries and memory loss. In one theory, usually someone looses their memory because they wanted to forget. It just makes me wonder…could something have been that bad that I wanted to forget everything? And if I really wanted to forget it, then do I want to remember it all over again?

Theses are the questions that have been plaguing me all day and I am no where closer to the answer. I don't think I ever will be.

There is another fact about amnesia I found…I could remember everything in a second. Just poof, everything would be there, or it could come back to me slowly like a leaky faucet and I could even never remember. That scares me. Which now leads me to another problem.

I'm in love with Hermione Granger. That much is true. I also suspect she feels the same way about me. So, now I think to myself, what's the problem? And the problem, well it's me. Because she's in love with the me I can't remember being. I could tell when she was telling me the story of our first year at Hogwarts. See the problem? If I can't remember being me, then how am I still supposed to be the me she loves? Experiences, memories, living all make a person. I have a clean slate right now. A new start and just maybe, a new personality. Just thinking about all of this is beginning to make my head hurt. But then again, that could be the result of the mysterious throbbing scar.

I can hear my parents and Sirius coming up the stairs and going into their rooms. I lay still on my bed for a moment, breaking myself from my thoughts. I tried to fall asleep again, but my mind was working overtime. I sighted and reached over for the amnesia book I had placed on the night stand earlier. I tossed the duvet off of me and crept slowly down the stairs, careful not to step on the creaky parts I learned about earlier.

I made my way through the downstairs to a room that is off to the side. I placed the book down on the end table by a large sofa and picked up the matchbox and lit a single match. I brought the tiny flame to a couple of candles before blowing the flame out before it burned my hand.

end of first person

He sat down on the large sofa and pulled his legs up so he was curled in a comfortable position and opened the book and began reading on the marked page. He got so engrossed with what he was reading he did not hear anyone step into the room

"Hey." A small voice said. It startled Harry and he quickly looked up to see Hermione standing there.

She wore her pajamas under her red robe which was tied closed. Her hair was puffed out in every direction, but she still managed to look as beautiful as ever.

"Hey," He said, and marked his page while closing the book. Hermione crossed the room and sat down next to him.

"What are you doing up?" He asked her. Hermione smiled at him.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Couldn't sleep." Harry stated, looking over at her.

"Anything you want to talk about?" She asked, looking concerned.

"Just have a lot on my mind. I'm trying to sort it all out." Harry answered with a shrug. Hermione looked slightly disappointed by his reply.

"You know if you need to talk, I'm always here." She stated with a smile. Harry returned her soft smile and nodded in acknowledgement. The two friends sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Hey, Hermione?"

"Yes?"  
"What were you about to tell me yesterday?" He asked, looking her into the eyes and saw her frown slightly but not say anything. She then looked away from his questioning gaze as if she were ashamed of herself. After a pause, she looked back up at him.

"I was going to say because I care about you and we've been god friends." Harry nodded, feeling his heart sink slightly. Maybe he was wrong about their relationship. Hermione looked back down at her hands and neither of them said another word. Silence stretched before them but not an uncomfortable silence.

Hermione yawned and Harry glared at her playfully.

"Don't do that! Don't you know it's-"And Harry yawned before he could finish his statement.

"Contagious?" Hermione finished for him.

"Yes." Hermione shrugged and smiled at his answer.

"Well, I'm going back to bed. I am tired and I'm sure you should get some sleep too." Hermione stated, getting off the couch.

"I'll be up there later. I'm not really that tired." Harry stated. Hermione nodded and started to leave the room and once she stood in the archway she turned around. "Good night Harry."

"Good morning, you mean." Harry pointed out, glancing at the old clock that hung on the wall.

Hermione gave him a look that read 'You know what I mean' and left the room. Harry sighed and went to pick up his book again. He paused as he did so, and looked at it thoughtfully. He stood up finally and blew out the candles, leaving himself in the dark before walking up the stairs to the room he shared with Ron Weasly, the freight train.


	35. Chapter 34

**A/N: **Hey all! I'm back again! :D I really don't have a lot to say in this note except I'm proud to announce I found my Prom Dress (yes I'm 4 months early, but I usually can't find ANYTHING so I thought looking early would give me a head start)!!! It's so pretty and the best thing is…it was only 32.00 squeals Sorry, just had to announce that! I mean, who wouldn't be excited?! :D Anywho, onto the story since I haven't seen any reviews yet tear, tear

**Chapter 34: **

James and Remus sat at the Dining Room table (do they ever do anything else?) talking about the meeting last night. Lily was in the kitchen, trying to make lunch around Sirius who kept getting in her way. Beyond the point of frustration, Lily shoved Sirius out of the kitchen and told him menacingly "If you come back in one more time, I will curse you so bad it'll make the marauders pranks look like child's play." She turned on her heel and went back to cooking, not bothering to see if Sirius bothered to follow her or not. Sirius looked after her with a pout on his face, looking very much like a pouting dog.

"But I'm hungry!" Sirius wined.

"Stay out of there Padfoot." James said, his face having a slight deadpan.

"Best to listen to him, Mate." Remus stated. Sirius whimpered and sat down across from James and Remus.

"I'm telling you Padfoot, you would make a great dog."

"And I Prongs, have told you before, I could live as a cute and cuddly dog-" Remus snorted and James tried hard not to laugh. "But YOU try and live with fleas." Sirius said, shuddering and unconsciously scratching his head.

"Padfoot, sorry to break it to ya, but you already HAVE fleas." James pointed out and Remus laughed.

"Do not!" Sirius said, sounding very offended.

"So glad you guys made up!" Lily called from the kitchen, and James could swear he heard her humming a tune. The Marauders all grinned at each other. Sirius winked at James and yelled back to Lily "Only because Jamesie loooves me!"

James looked at Sirius in mock horror.

"I knew there was something going on between-"

"HEY!" James yelled, looking annoyed. Sirius grinned and walked over to James and hugged him.

"you know you love me." Sirius stated and James glared at him.

"Get off of me you buffoon!"

Remus glanced at the two and started to leave the table.

"Hey! Moony, where are you going?" Sirius asked.

"It seems like you two need some alone time…"

"Don't you dare leave me Remus!" James stated, sending Remus a pleading look, and then elbowed Sirius which sent him backwards into the wall behind them.

Lily came in carrying a tray of food.

"FOOD! Lily! I love you!" Sirius said happily, forgetting all about antagonizing James. James glared at his friend.

"OH, so now you love lily…" Remus said, glancing at James. Lily shot an icy glare in Sirius's direction and waved her wand to set the table with the bowls of soup she just finished. She grinned, and glanced at the table once more before adding drinks and napkins. She looked satisfied at her work and took a seat next to James and Sirius literally leaped into his seat, nearly knocking it over and began to inhale his soup. Remus got up and went to fetch the kids so they could all have lunch.

Everyone finished eating and remained at the table chatting. The front door opened and Dumbledore and an older woman walked in.

"Hello Harry, it's good to see you well." The woman said and Harry regarded her for a moment before saying "Thanks."

"Hello Headmaster, madam Pomfrey." Hermione greeted.

"Harry, we asked Madam Pomfrey to come and make sure you were not put under a memory charm." Lily explained and glanced over at Pomfrey.

"Are you ready Harry?" She asked and Harry nodded, glancing uncertainly at his parents.

Lily and James stood up from their seats and Harry followed them up the stairs to his room; Madam Pomfrey followed the Potters. The group walked into Harry's room and Pomfrey made a quick suggestion.

"Harry, you may want to lay down dear." She said.

_What is this woman going to do to me?_ Harry wondered, lying down on his bed. He saw her take her wand out and he glanced at his parents thinking _Maybe__ I don't want to know. _

"Now Harry, you may experience a headache or a blackout depending if you're under the charm and how powerful it is." She explained and glanced over at Lily and James. "It's a normal reaction."

Harry pondered for a moment if this woman really knew what she was doing. He didn't hear the words she said but he did see the light come from her wand at the exact moment his head exploded with pain.

Memories flashed quickly through his mind, like he was watching a movie on fast-forward, and when the person holding the remote pushed the stop button, he met the darkness willingly.

OK, the part with James and Sirius, I based loosely off of two of my friends, they know who they are. Hopefully I'll be able to post again soon. Hope you all enjoyed (yes I know it's short, but a longer chapter will come next.)


	36. Chapter 35

**A/N:** Hey guys! I want to say that I probably won't get a chance to post again until Friday. I have exams Wednesday through Friday and I should be studying for Pre-Calc, but I can't seem to get myself to look it over. Eh, oh well. I'd rather post my story anyway! :D But seriously, I need to crack down tomorrow and do some serious cramming so unfortunately because I've been procrastinating; posting is going to be pushed to the end of my to-do list. Anyway, this chapter is longer anyway and should answer a couple of questions, namely the big one about the memory charm.

**Stella: **:D I love Shrek also. It's a great movie. You'll see about the memory charm thing in this chapter…I didn't think to clarify in the last one and left it for this chapter. Hee, oops. :D

**Writingjustforfun: **lol! Harry and Hermione's coming up…and yes, I was convinced at some point over the weekend that I needed to post Hedwig's Rant, so that will be coming in the end once my co-author and I have finished it…though that will probably also go on hold because of finals. sighs

Again, memory charm is going to be explained. I wasn't thinking clearly when I posted that chapter and probably shouldn't have left it so cliff-hanger-y. Anyway, it all gets explained here. :D

Hope you all enjoy!

**Chapter 35**

Lily ran over to Harry as he blacked out. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him and smoothed the hair out of his pale, sweating face.

"Is he ok?" James asked Pomfrey, walking over to his wife and son, looking concerned.

"Strange…" Was all Pomfrey said. Lily and James looked at her anxiously.

"Well, he wasn't exactly under a memory charm…that's what is so odd."

"But…?" James inquired, looking ready to pounce and strangle Pomfrey.

"It seems it may have restored your son's memory." Pomfrey said, sounding just as confused as Lily and James were.

"But you were only checking for the charm. How could that be?"

"That is my question. Then again, Mrs. Potter," Pomfrey said, looking thoughtful, "you're son has never been entirely normal in all respects." Both Potters nodded sadly.

"I'll stick around and make sure he's ok before I leave. I would like to consult Albus, are you going to be ok while I'm gone, or do you"

"It's fine." James said, and Pomfrey left the room. James circled his arms around Lily and kissed her cheek. He then rested his head rather uncomfortably on her shoulder. Lily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"What do you want?" She asked skeptically and turned her attention back to her son, stroking his dark and unruly hair. She frowned. That was the one thing she wished her son had not inherited from his father. Both their hair always looked messy and was rather untamable. It was really annoying some times.

"I have all I need right here." James said. Lily raised an eyebrow at him.

"You remember that when"

"You're ruining the moment, Mrs. Potter." James stated, looking mildly offended. Lily shook her head.

"Oh, we wouldn't want that now, would we?" She said, dramatically. "Will you ever forgive me?"

"Maybe.." James said in a sing-song voice and kissed her again.

"Hey! Prong-sie!"

"PADfoot!" James groaned, pulling away slightly from Lily. "You know I hate that!"

"Yes, I know my dear Prongsie." Sirius stated and James continued to glare at his friend.

"What do you want Sirius?" Lily asked, cursing Sirius's timing. Sirius pouted and Lily rolled her eyes.

"I just wanted to check up on my godson, if that's ok with you." Sirius stated, sounding slightly offended.

"Of course you can." Lily said and James muttered something under his breath.

"Something wrong Prongsie?" Sirius taunted sweetly.

"Nothing Snuggles!" James taunted back. Sirius glared.

"Hey! It's Snuffles to you, Mate." Sirius said, remembering how when Harry was a toddler he couldn't pronounce 'Snuffles' and said 'Snuggles' repeatedly, driving Sirius mad. James still called him that to annoy him. Luckily, Harry doesn't remember the mix up, but the word still sent chills down Sirius's spine. James smirked at Sirius.

"Uh-ho! I know that look." Sirius said and looked at Lily. "Quick! Run! Old Prongs has got a plan!"

"I'm not that old! Plus Sirius, if I remember right, you're older than me." James pointed out. Sirius grumbled and James continued "if you call me Prongsie, I'll call you Snuggles. It's only fair."

"Fine. No more prongsie." Sirius said, sounding disappointed.

"Will you two ever grow up?" Lily asked. The two marauders looked at each other, their expressions matching. They went from looking thoughtful to horrified in perfect unison.

"Never!" Sirius proclaimed and Lily shook her head and turned back to Harry, ignoring her Husband and his friend, muttering "Why do I even bother."

Using Sirius's early words, James explained "Because you love me."

"Sometimes." Lily joked. James looked hurt but Lily didn't see the expression.

"You know..It's kinda ironic."

"What is?" James asked Sirius.

"Before you two were married…you fought like an old married couple. And now, well, you are an old married couple" Sirius earned glares from the Potters "you hardly ever fight anymore…at least, not to the degree that hexes and curses are flown." James looked thoughtful.

"That's because James had an ego the size of the universe."

"Did not!" James Defended

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Oh boy, look what I just did…" Sirius said, watching them continue to bicker back and forth. Luckily, the two gave up and Sirius looked relieved. Hexes and Curses were known to fly at that age old argument.

"Those were the days…" Sirius said, fondly. "Evans and Potter fighting…"

"Cursing old Snivellus daily.." James stated.

"Cursing Slytherins," Sirius said with a sigh.

"Dodging Filtch," James said with a grin.

"Full moon's with Mooney,"

"Pranks upon more pranks.."

"Dodging Lily, the super prefect,"

"Quiddich…"

"Before Voldemort" Sirius stopped quickly. He was going to mention before Voldemort got Peter, but that was sure to only tick James off. Sure they all hated the…well, rat, but it was an unspoken agreement. You do not under any circumstance mention Peter Pettigrew around James Potter. Ever. There was silence in the room and a knock could be heard at the door.

James and Sirius looked to see Remus standing in the doorway.

"Speak of the devil." Sirius muttered.

"James, Lily, Dumbledore would like a word with you." The couple glanced at each other then at Harry, who still lay unconscious.

"I'll come and get you if he wakes up." Sirius stated.

"Thanks Padfoot."

"No problem Prongs." Sirius said and they left the room. Sirius glanced over at Harry and sighed. "You sure know how to attract trouble kid." He stated and changed into Snuffles. He liked being a dog. Dogs are happy almost all the time. Plus they're cute and loveable and he gets a lot of attention in a crowd. Sirius jumped carefully on the bed and lay down next to Harry, his head resting on Harry's hand.

He glanced up at him and marveled at the similarity between father and son. Harry was almost a mirror image of James at his age. Snuffles closed his eyes and kept on the alert. The dog woke when someone stepped carefully in the room. Though he knew it was Hermione from her smell, he still glanced up and watched her walk over to her friends' bed. Snuffles gave her a welcoming bark.

Hermione smiled and walked over to them.

"Hey Snuffles." She greeted and scratched him behind the ears (Amy, this is not Anubus behind the ears. Just clarifying before you perverted my story. To everyone else, ignore this comment and sorry for the interruption.) Snuffles sighed contently. Hermione stopped scratching and turned her attention to hurry. Her brown eyes studied his still form. Snuffles laid his head back down and closed his eyes. Then he felt something move under his chin. Snuffles sat back up and watched as Harry woke up. He reached up and petted Snuffles.

"Hey Snuffles." He said, groggily. Sirius went still. _He said Snuffles! He remembers me!_ Hermione shoved Sirius out of the way and launched herself onto Harry, throwing her arms around him.

"Harry!" She said giddily.

"'Mione?" Harry said and she sat back, grinning from ear to ear.

"Do you remember? Pomfrey said you might!" She looked so happy that he didn't want to disappoint her.

"I-" he was ready to say no, but then everything flashed quickly before his mind again. First year, Second year with Tom Riddle, Third Year with the peter fiasco, Fourth year when Cedric died, and the prophecy along with that horrible Fifth year. He shuddered at the thought and wondered for a moment if Dumbledore told them all the prophecy when he was assumed to be dead.

"Yea, I remember now." Harry said, thinking of the prophecy. _Why did he go through the trouble to turn me into a death eater? He could have killed me then and there. _

"Harry? What's wrong?" Hermione asked and Snuffles jumped off the bed and trotted out of the room.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to re-process everything." Harry said with a sigh. Hermione gave him a look.

"You don't have to lie to me." Hermione said, looking hurt.

"Find, you want the truth? I wish I didn't remember."

"You don't mean that." Hermione said, wondering for a second if she was convincing herself or Harry.

"Don't I? You think I like knowing I'm gonna" Harry stopped abruptly and looked away from her. He knew now what he had not known before. Had been too blind to see before. He was deeply in love with his best friend. He now knew that was why he remembered her when he remembered nothing else. It pained him to think she didn't feel the same way. He was just her friend and her care for him did not go beyond that.

He felt depressed. Deeply depressed. Everything hit him now like a ton of bricks and he felt he might die from the emotional blow. He did not like to think about Cedric's death, and now he felt he was re-living it all over again. He didn't want to think about the D.O.M. incident where he nearly got his friends killed. If he had just listened to Hermione, listened to Dumbledore, and god help him, listened to Snape, none of that would have happened. His friends would not have been hurt, and an Order Member, Rankle, would not have fallen through that stupid veil. The prophecy would not have been smashed…well, that was probably the only good thing about that night.

"It wasn't your fault." Hermione said and Harry wondered how she seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Just drop it Hermione." He said, tiredly. She huffed.

"I will not! Harry James Potter! You will not blame yourself for things out of your control!"

"You were right you know." Harry said, not daring to look at her. "I do have a saving people thing and I almost got you and everyone else killed because of it. But I should have listened to you, and instead I was cruel and I'm sorry." Harry said, finally glancing up to meet her eyes.

"Harry-"

"Hey Mate!" Ron greeted, walking into the room. Hermione watched as Harry seemed to flip a switch in his mind. Depression and Self-pity off, Happiness on. She did not like that sudden transformation of emotions.

"Hey Ron." Harry greeted, his mind flashed back quickly to the DoM and seeing Ron.._Stop it!_ Harry told himself. _Stop thinking about that. _

The trio instantly started to talk and chat and Harry slowly slipped out of the conversation and only half-listened to it, commenting occasionally so Hermione would leave him alone.

He couldn't help but wonder what his friends would do if they knew the choice he had to make. Kill or be killed. And Harry feared he would not win when the time came.

OK, since I won't be posting until Friday, if you review with any questions, I'll post just an answer post so things can be clarified for you. I don't want to leave you all hanging if you're having questions and since I know I won't be posting, I'll definitely do that. So, please do the second R in R&R. I love hearing from my readers.


	37. Chapter 36

**A/N: **Hey Guys! Finals went very well! :D Thanks all for being so patient! I have a feeling this story will be completed this weekend. Hedwig's Rant is still in the makings but it will be posted when it is complete. I do have a couple of sections in here in first persons again. I hope it does not make the chapter confusing. I do warn when First person begins and ends.

**Writingjustforfun**: Hope you like this chapter, though I'm sure I'll be getting 'hate' reviews from the way I left it. LOL!

**Chapter 36**

**Later that Evening**

Harry was finally able to get away from everyone. He saw Dumbledore standing off to the side. He took a deep breathe and approached the headmaster.

"Professor, first I would like to apologize for destroying your office." Harry said, looking tentatively up at the older man. Dumbledore just smiled.

"it's really ok Harry. I have too much stuff anyway." Harry nodded, feeling slightly better.

"I was also wondering…" Harry glanced over at his friends as he trailed off. He saw Ron give Destany a kiss on the cheek and she smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Hermione seemed to talk happily with them, he noted that Destany and Hermione seemed to have put their earlier differences aside. "did you tell them about the prophecy after I was presumed dead?"

"I did not. I felt it best they did not know the contents." Harry just nodded and surveyed the room. He saw how everyone seemed to be happy again. Everyone but him. He wished he could be more naïve again like Ron. He wanted to tell them the prophecy, but he was afraid they would split when they found out their friend had to kill or be killed. He sighed and noticed Dumbledore get into conversation with Professor McGonagall and he wondered when she even appeared. He noted that no one was watching him and he slipped quietly out of the room and outside and sat on the front steps.

switching to first person Harry

I thought when I got my memory back, everything would be clear. All my questions would be answered and everything would be hunky-dory. And nothing could be more wrong. Sure, everything makes a bit more sense now, but I've been left with more questions then answers. More pain then relief. And way more confusion than clarity. And the thing is, I don't know where or when I will ever get my answers.

I mean, how is a 16-year-old supposed to bring down the most evil wizard in our time? Why didn't he just kill me when I was clueless and basically defenseless? Why do I have to be in love with my best friend?

First person, Hermione

I saw Harry slip outside. I know he thought no one would notice. I found it odd that he thought I wouldn't notice. Doesn't he realize I always notice him? Not because he's the boy-who-lived but because he's Harry?

I looked at Ron and I couldn't believe he actually thought our friend was back to normal. Harry hasn't been close to normal at all in a long time. Sure, he tries and puts up a façade around us, but I see through it, and I find it hard to believe Ron doesn't too. I quickly excused myself from the conversation and followed Harry's lead outside. I know he wants to be alone, but I can't help but think he needs someone right now and why can't it be me?

I stepped outside into the cool summer air and studied him for a moment. He was sitting on the deck with his feet resting on the steps. He was staring out at something only he could see, lost in his own thoughts.

"Harry?" I asked timidly. I heard him sigh and I became more worried about him. He's been withdrawn all day. I know something's bothering him and I hate it that he doesn't think he can trust me enough to tell me what it is.

"Go away 'Mione." Harry said desperation in his voice. He needs me. The porch squeaked slightly as I moved to sit next to him. He didn't look at me, just kept staring out into the darkness.

"Are you ok?" I asked, hoping he didn't just push me away again.

"I'm fine." He said, and I knew he was lying.

"You don't seem fine." I told him. Please Harry, stop hiding from me. I mentally pleaded with him. "You know you can tell me anything."

He did not say anything, but I could see his inner battle raging. To tell or not to tell. Let me in Harry. I pleaded with him.

"It's weird." Harry stated and paused.

"What is?" I asked, feeling hopeful he was going to be honest with me.

end of first person

"When I remembered nothing, you were the only thing I did remember. I saw you and I remembered brief moments when we were together. It was only flashes, but it was something to hold onto." Harry said, looking up into her eyes for the first time that evening.

"When everyone believed you were dead, something inside of me told me you were alive. You were out there somewhere and I knew I would see you again." Hermione said, staring back into his emerald green eyes.

_It would be so easy to lean over and kiss her. _Harry thought. His eyes left hers and trailed down her face. He was not consciously aware they were moving closer together and he suspected the same from her.

Hermione felt herself being drawn to him. She glanced quickly into his eyes. She knew their earlier confessions were round-about confessions of their love for each other. She didn't know who started it, but she did not care. She closed her eyes and revealed in the feeling of his lips on her.

_This is perfect, _He thought. _Perfect like her. _

They pulled apart and smiled at each other.

"Harry I"

and Harry James Potter, the-boy-who-lived, woke up.


	38. Chapter 37

**A/N: **Hey everyone, no that was not the last chapter of F.M. This is. That would have been way to evil. :D I just wanted to leave you guys with a cliff-hanger for a few. :D I hope you guys don't hate the ending. I could have gone on forever with that story and then I got this idea, what if it was all a dream? And then I was thinking, what if the dream was a 'what if'? You'll see a bit more when I get through. I'll explain my thinking at the end. I will be posting the Hedwig's Rant installment after I get that complete, which I don't think will be more than a week or two. (my co-author and I will see less of each other this semester in school where we trade off the notebook, she only helped me with that one chapter though because it was her idea and she fit the one part very well.) I will wait a couple of days and let reviews come in and I'll address them all before I post Hedwig's rant. I don't want to leave you all hanging. :D I hope you enjoy!

**Stella Blu: **I could do that because I am a master in plot twists. :D Good luck on a new semester and I'm glad you like my story, even though it has finally come to an end. tear, tear  
**silvertears44**: lol! As I said in the note, I'm not that evil to leave the story like that. :D This chapter is kind of a reflect on everything. You'll see. :D  
**writingjustforfun**: lol! I guess I did deserve a short review with that ending. I know I would have been ticked off too. :D That's kinda why I did it. (didn't I mention before the ending I was thinking about was going to get me killed ;D)

**Chapter 37: Reflections**

Harry Potter was no longer outside of Grimmauld Place kissing Hermione. He lay in a strange bed and his head throbbed from a headache. He could not see much as he opened his eyes; just blurs of color.

"Harry?" A voice said, and his brain could not register the voice.

"Where?" His voice croaked out from lack of use.

Someone placed his glasses on his face and the blurry images quickly became clear shapes. Harry always marveled how two pieces of glass could correct vision. He looked up and saw Remus standing off to his left and Hermione was asleep in the chair next to him on the right.

"You're in St. Mungo's. The Hogwarts Train was attacked when it was over the bridge. You were thrown from the train and nearly drowned in the river." Remus stated, and added "you've been unconscious for a couple of weeks."

_It didn't happen? _Harry thought. _It seemed so real to be just a dream._

"Are you ok hurry?" Remus asked.

"I just…I had the strangest dream…" Harry said, frowning.

"Want to talk about it?" Remus asked.

"Not really. It just seemed so real." Harry stated, reality hitting him like a ton of bricks. His parents were dead and Sirius was just recently killed. Worst of all, he had to go back to the Dursley's. He shuddered at the thought.

"Was anyone else hurt in the attack?"

"Well, not really. Lot of minor injuries."

"but…?" Harry said, sensing something off in Remus's tone.

"Draco Malfoy." Remus said, his face looking serious but his eyes sparkled.

"What about him?" Harry asked.

"He was hit by the train." Remus said, trying hard not to laugh. "It's really not funny, but he'll be fine, after a couple of months in the hospital."

Harry nodded, and tried not to laugh. It wasn't funny that he got hurt, but the thought of Malfoy getting run over by the train was freaking hilarious. Remus glanced at his watch and looked apologetically at Harry.

"I've got to run. I'm glad you're ok Harry. Are you going to be fine on"

"It's ok Remus." Harry said, and the two said their goodbyes and Remus left. Harry's thoughts went back to the alternate universe he just woke up from.

He heard Hermione stir and turned his head to look at her. Her hair was wild from going uncombed, she had light bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, but she still managed to look pretty.

"Hey," Harry greeted as she stretched cat-like and smiled at him brightly.

"You're awake!" She said happily.

"yes, yes I am." Harry said and she laughed at herself.

"I guess you did know that hu?" Harry smiled. "How are you feeling?" She asked him.

"Slightly groggy and my head hurts a little." He admitted.

"They said you probably hit your head on something. The healers were afraid you'd wake up with amnesia." Hermione said and noted the look of surprise on Harry's face.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure that you're ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just trying to shake the weird dream I had." He said, and his thoughts flew back to the kiss. _I wonder what she'd do if I kissed her. _He thought. _Probably hit me._ He added with a mental chuckle.

"What was it about?" She asked him.

"I had woke up from the attack on the train and I was in this strange place. I later found out it was Voldemort's lair. I had no memory, and my parents and Sirius were alive. I eventually got away from Voldemort and not long after I remembered everything, I woke up." Harry stated and Hermione looked at him sympathetically.

"Wow." She said.

"Yeah," Harry said and added "I almost wish I could go back." He thought of Sirius and his parents and wished they were alive again. Even one of them would be great.

"Well, I once read somewhere something on dream theories. It was really interesting, I'll have to find it for you later…but anyway, (not really in a book, I think. This is my own theory) The theory said that when we dream, we create things we really want. Only that has an effect. Like for you, you wish for your parents and Sirius to be alive, so when you had the dream, it was an alternate universe for you. In this universe, when you parents were alive, effected the future. I'm sure there were differences in your life and the main one, instead of waking up in a hospital with a chance of amnesia; you woke up with Voldemort with the amnesia. So, the dream is a possible, what could have been, if your parents had survived the attack and Sirius didn't…well, you know." Hermione stated, looking solemn at the end of her speech.

"I get what you're saying." Harry stated, looking away from her eyes.

"You also have to think, that if you're parents did live, would you have been the same?" Hermione stated and added silently "the Harry I know and love." Harry looked up at her, shocked.

_Did she just say she loves me?_ Hermione's face reddened and she looked away from him as he looked up at her, with a shocked expression. Harry sat up, wincing at the soreness in his muscles. He reached out and lifted her face under her chin to make her look at him in the eyes.

All the emotion he felt for her during his dream came flooding into reality. He wondered how he could have been so blind for five years.

They started to move closer together and their lips touched softly and hesitantly at first and got more emotion, but did not turn into anything than a sweet first kiss. They broke apart moments later and looked at each other.

"I love you Harry." She said, her eyes reflecting the emotion.

"I love you too Hermione." Harry replied, and she smiled at him and got up on the bed with him. They lay down in each other's arms.

_This is so perfect. _Hermione thought.

The door opened and the couple looked up to see Ron Weasly walk in with someone else at his side. Harry noted she looked vaguely familiar but couldn't place her.

"Harry! You're awake!" Ron greeted happily.

"Hey Ron." Harry studied the girl more and his eyes had to widen a bit. Standing next to Ron stood Destany, slightly different, but it was her.

"Harry, meet Destany Ravin Mitchell. Destany, Harry Potter." Ron introduced.

"Hi." Harry said, thinking of the orphaned girl in his dream.

"Hi." She said, with a smile.

"Destany is a sixth year. She's going to be going to Hogwarts with us!"

Hermione looked slightly confused.

"My mother's an Auror in the states. She was transferred over to help with…well, you know, and I want to be a healer and my mom pulled some strings to get me an orderly position here." Destany explained, smiling.

"I see you two finally…" Ron said and motioned at them.

"Are you"

"I'm fine with it. About time! Anyway, we want to say…Destany has agreed to be my girlfriend." Ron said, smiling at Destany.

"He's been following her around since we got here, going on her breaks and everything with her. It's sweet." Hermione whispered to harry. He nodded, not at all surprised.

Ron and Destany pulled up a couple of chairs and sat down. They four began to build a new friendship.

Harry kissed the top of Hermione's head and she glanced up at him with a smile. He didn't know what would come this year, but he was sure they would all get through it together.

**The End!**

**Final A/N: **that is, if you have no plans for Hedwig's Rant which I'll explain more about in a moment. I hope you all understood my dream theory, and on a side note, it's snowing so bad we almost have a white out!!!!!! Wow!!! Anywho….Hedwig's Rant. It takes place after this story, and starts with Rita Skeeter interviewing Hedwig. Well, Hedwig feels under appreciated, and goes on a rant. Hence, Hedwig's Rant. Well, we decide to add other Hogwarts Animals, Fawkes, Crookshanks, Pig, and BuckBeak. If you can think of other major animals we missed, let me know. No we are not putting in 'Scabbers' as we hate the character Peter Pettigrew. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Destany do make a short appearance. Again, this story is plain humor and has practically no plot or point what-so-ever except to amuse my friends and I. If you read it, I don't want flames because I warned you.

And I hope you all enjoyed the story. bows


	39. Hedwig's Rant

**A/N: **First off, I want to say I'm not going to individually address my reviewers this time. Everyone liked the ending and had no big questions/concerns/or comments, and I will be repeating myself a lot so I want to say Thank You all for your reviews. I appreciate them. I'm glad you all stumbled upon my story and gave it the chance I know it deserves. (can't help that I'm biased against my work, now can I?) You all made me keep interest in my story and I looked forward to checking my email to see what you were going to say next. Thank you again.

Next, Yes this is Hedwig's Rant. For those of you who ignore my a/n's, and I'm sure you won't read it anyway, but, eh, oh well, this is not really a big part of this story, but I put it with it because some of the events mentioned take place during this plot line, so Anywho, I hope you all enjoy and understand I have a twisted sense of humor and this really has no plot. :D It's meant to entertain myself and my friends, and hopefully, my newfound readers.

Now, a bit of background to this story, Characters:

**Hedwig: **obviously. Hedwig will be represented by a 'H' through out this chapter. It is wrote in script form and I'm to lazy to keep typing out the same characters names over and over again. My co-author and I see Hedwig as…misunderstood. Ignored. And almost God-Father like. You'll see what I mean later. On a side note, my co-author wrote Hedwig.

**Rita Skeeter**: Represented by a 'R'. Well, we all know Rita. I tried to keep her true-to-form, but hey, gatta add my own twist in there. I mainly wrote Rita's character.

**Fawkes**Represented by an 'F'. We see Fawkes as arrogant. He's the 'cool' phoenix and well, we just thought he should be an arrogant jerk. Both of us wrote Fawkes, but I think I wrote more of him than my friend.

**Crookshanks: **Represented by a 'C.S.'. Crookshanks we see as a gangsta. Hedwig and Crookshanks are homies. C.S. tends to do a lot of H's dirty work. You'll see what I mean later. ;D My friend tends to write more CS than I do, but we both wrote him.

**BuckBeak**represented by a 'B.B.'. BuckBeak is what we think of as the gossiper of the group. We both used B.B. about the same.

**Pig: **Represented by a 'P'. Pig…well…we see Pig as the small owl with a very deep voice. He doesn't really have a set personality, except we thought it would be humorous if Pig had a very deep voice.

**Anubus**Represented by an 'A'. Now, the Anubus is from Kingdom Hospital. Don't ask why we included him, we just did. (don't worry, it's not for long we use him). Some background on the Anubus. He is generally seen as a giant anteater do to a child's misunderstanding of what he is. The Anubus does not have a true form is called "Antibus" by Mary (whom I'll talk about later). My understanding (any k.h. people, feel free to correct me) is that the anubus is like…the thing who decides who lives and who dies. Most of the time, he lets the people die, but he will intervene and try to save you if you help him. His favorite lines throughout the show is "You do me a solid. I do you a solid. That's how it works." Please note, this is not the way the anubus's personality is. We just chose to make fun of him.

**Mary: **Represented by the letter 'M'. Mary is also a Kingdom Hospital character. Mary is best described as "The dead girl with a bell". She's probably eight years old and she's been with the Anubus since just before her own death. (long story, please don't ask me to explain it). Mary is ashen looking, she has dark hair, pale complexion (which actually looks gray-ish), black rings around her eyes, black lips, and gray dress. She does not have any color on her and is dead. The bell she has around her neck, when she rings the bell, usually people tend to die. You'd have to see Kingdom Hospital for an explanation, as I will not give away the whole mini-series plot. That's about all there is to know about the Kingdom characters. Like I said, they only appear for a short period of time and then they disappear.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione also make an appearance in this towards the end, but they won't be abbreviated because they only show up for a short period. :D I hope you all enjoy and that should be it with the explanations for Hedwig's Rant. Hope you all enjoy this mindless humor.

Anything between is an action or some kind of tone of voice.

Please note: I do not really know where this takes place. For awhile we thought it would work at Privot Drive, but then we scratched that idea, once we thought of Grimmauld Place, there was talk of the Gryffindor Common Room, but I think it's officially the Room of Requirement. I don't know, take your pick. The set doesn't really matter as there is really no point to it anyway. :D Hope you enjoy!

**Hedwig's Rant**

**please at least skim the authors note! I do mention some things that would be helpful to you**

**Rita**: mutters I can't believe this! My lawyers are going to here about this one! I am a respectable writer and they were now ruining my career! I mean, it could not have come on it's own! For crying out loud, they want me to interview a bird! walks into room

**Hedwig: **Oh, you have nothing to complain about. Try having a diet of dead rodents and living with Miss. All-I-Ever-Talk-About-Is-Harry!

**R:** deadpans You can talk!? Oh my god! I'm going crazy!

**H:** Of course I can talk! But I'm not going to argue the feat that you are going crazy.

**R:** well…evil grin So, what's the dirt on Harry Potter?

**H: **Dirt? Harry Potter is not covered in dirt! Where did you get that from?

**R: **I know that! The gossip…the 4-1-1!

**H: **What the bloody hell is 4-1-1?! For god's sake woman, I'm just a flippin' owl!

**R:** Never mind. So, sources tell me you stayed a month with Miss. Hermione Granger…how was that? Takes out pen, looking bored and begins to take notes

**H: **ruffles feathers and screeches Don't get me started on that! That was the most boring month of my life! I mean, I almost died of boredom!

**R: **Care to elaborate?

**H: **She only did two things all day: Cry that Harry was gone, or talk to ME about how much she missed Harry! And let me tell you, once she started, she never shut her gob!

**R: **sounding interestedWhat all did she say?

**H: **mocking Hermione Harry used to do this…Me and Harry…Harry and Ron…I miss Harry…I wish Harry were here…I hope Harry is alive…continues on for 3 minutes I want Harry to know how much I love him…

**R: **Really? Is that a direct quote?

**H: **Those are the only things she said all flippin' month if that's what you mean. For being top of her class, her vocabulary is very limited.

**R: **Well, does Harry love Hermione?

**H: **How the hell should I know?! I've almost gone deaf from the amount of talking Hermione did. I can barely hear anything anymore.

**R: **Are you going to sue? You never read or know the contents of the letters Harry has you send? It's only proper he should let you know these things. There are Owl Union's you know.

**H: **Of course I know! I'm part of an Owl Union…which reminds me…I should give them a ring…

**R: **Really?! What for?

**H**: Because I want to! Stay out of my business!

**R**: Ok, ok…touchy.

**H:** makes threatening movements You want some? Huh? Huh? Huh? Do ya?

**R**: You hurt me and you'll hear from my lawyers.

**H**: I'd like to see you try and sue an owl. You'll be a laughing stock.

**R**: Well..I am recording this conversation. I have proof you've been talking.

**H:** Hoot…Hoot…looks around Hoot!

**R:** Why me…I'll need therapy after this one…

**H**: Therapy! You think you need therapy! Try living with psycho-Harry-stalker for a month then talk to me about therapy!  
**R:** mutters try having a psycho bird…talks normally Yes, well, Ms. Granger is rather dull…

**H:** The life of Harry Potter Is dull compared to what Hermione is! Talk talk talk! Bitch bitch bitch! Lurk lurk lurk!

**R:** Really? Better than going up against Voldemort?

**H:** Well, maybe I exaggerate but some of the letters she's written to Viktor Krum…now those are interesting. But he's in the past now. Now it's only Harry.

**R**: Interesting how?

**H**: let's just say that she's…how should I put it…desperate to find that special someone.

**R:** So, you're saying she's a slut?

**H**: Well…to my knowledge she's never…eh, slept around…but I was only with her for a month so…

**R**: So you're saying she needs to get laid?

**H:** screeches excitedly Yes! I've been telling Harry to do that for years!

**R: **Oh, so Harry does not listen to you? shakes head pitifully tell me…looks at notes Hedwig, does Harry Potter ever neglect you?

**H: **Neglect is such a strong word so no. He does tend to ignore me at times then expect me to do my job as happy as can be, which is annoying sometimes. But I have a clean cage to come home to and a full food dish…most of the time.

**R: **Shame, Shame. So, you're often treated unfairly Shakes head

**H:** bows head Yes…it ahs always been Harry, Ron, or Hermione, never Hedwig. My work goes unappreciated.

**R:** What kind of work do you do? Just for clarification purposes for my readers. They love the juicy details.

**H:** What juicy details? I'm given a letter, I deliver the letter. I go home and stare at the wall. Woohoo! I hate being an owl. I have the worst life ever! Maybe I should look into changing into a phoenix. Now there's a bird that gets respect.

**R**: Well, that shouldn't be too hard. Just some simple transfigurations…

**H:** flaps wings does it look like I can hold a wand? No, I'm kind of in the lack of fingers smart one.

**R:** I did not say you could do it.

**H:** You insinuated it.

**R:** I did not!

**H**: Did to!

**R:** I will not repeat myself and participate in this childish display of idiosyncrasy.

**H:** Don't make me bite you.

**R:** sing song voice Childish

**H:** That's it, you asked for it! flies at Rita and bites her on the nose and flies back to her perch

**R:** Ow! Damn owl! I was going to offer to do the transfiguration, but maybe I'll just turn you into a stupid sparrow instead.

**H**: You want some more? Huh?! I've got homies to come back me up!

**R**: You know what a homie is but not 4-1-1?

**H:** EVERYONE knows what a homie is!

**R:** sighs

**H**: mocks Rita by sighing also

**R:** damn bird

**H**: that's damn owl to you!

Before Rita can answer, Fawkes flies in

**Fawkes**: Oh, don't let me interrupt…

**R:** And you are??

**F:** Dumbledore's Phoenix.

**H:** rolls eyes Do you mind!? I'm in the middle of an interview here!

**F:** You…being interviewed…laughs uncontrollably

**R:** mutters Maybe I can finally get somewhere…

**F:** If you want someone WORTHY of an interview…come talk to ME.

**H:** Oh no you don't flameball! This is my interview! Not yours!

**F:** turns away from Hedwig Anyways, as you were saying Ms. Skeeter?

**H:** NO! THIS IS MY INTERVIEW! MINE! MINE MINE MINE!!!

**F:** shouting over Hedwig I THINK HE'S A GOOD BOY! A NICE LAD HE IS!

**R:** Hedwig, calm down. We have time for both your comments.

**F:** smiles smugly at Hedwig Such a childish display of jealousy.

**H:** NO! you only have time for me!

**F**: Like I was saying. Good lad Harry Potter is.

**R:** Hedwig, why don't you like Fawkes?

**H:** Look at him! Flaunting around his man-prettiness around in an arrogant way! Bastard!

**F:** I resent that! I have a father!

**H:** Why me cruel world? Why me?

**R:** Famous last words..interesting choice.

**H:** Go soak your head Skeeter.

**F**: Well, that was rude.

**R:** Hedwig, did you not say you WANTED to be a phoenix?

**F:** laughs Ha! Hedwig! A Phoenix?! snorts

**H: **glares You asked for it Fireball! CROOKSHANS!

**F:** And what do you think that furball is going to do, come to your rescue?

**H:** Damn straight!

**Crookshanks:** Yo Homie! Sup Dawg?

**R:** Are we in the Ghetto now?

**H:** Taps her wing to her chest and jerks her head upwards Old Fawkes here is getting up in my bizznass homie.

**CS**: Don't worry Hedwig old girl..I'll take care of him.

**F:** laughs YOU? Take care of ME!? Hahahahahahahahah!

**CS**: hisses and pounces on fawkes as the phoenix turns back to Rita

**F:** eek! bursts into flames

**CS:** looks pleased and struts away from the pile of ashes

**F:** baby emerges from ashes damn you Crookshanks!

**R:** looks on puzzled

**H:** looks at CS and nods approvingly That's better. Anyways, where were we? Ah, yes, Harry…

**CS**: smiles and nods Harry a good homie yo.

**F**: I hate my life!

**R:** OK, anyway, Crookshanks! Pancakes!

CS and H deadpan

**CS:** How did she know?

**H:** The codeword!

both turn to R, mouths wide open

**Both:** Who told you!?

**R:** Why, a little fly on the wall…

**F:** tries to hide himself in the ashes

**CS:** Fawkes?

**F:** I DIDN'T DO IT! I WAS FRAMED! I SWEAR ON MY BEAUTIFUL SELF!

**H:** You're mine bird brain!

**F**: eek runs around the room HELP! HELP! I CAN"T FLY!

**CS:** yawns

**H:** Flies after F

**R:** WAIT!

Everyone freezes

**H:** (thinking: How the hell am I floating?! Oh well..) falls down on the ground

**CS**: You ok Homie Yo?

**R:** Don't say anything! silence fills the room I ran out of tape Changes tape Carry on.

**H:** I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP! OH THE PAIN! I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DANCE AGAIN! Err…realizes she gave her secret away I MEAN, I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO UH, FLY! YEAH! FLY AGAIN!

**CS:** NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DUN DUN DUN comes from somewhere. Everyone deadpans

**F:** OH MY GOSH! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! FLAPS AWAY TO HIDE

deep evil laughter fills the room

**H:** NNNOOO! It's….It's…is over come with emotion

**R:** Who?!

**CS**: No, it can't be!

Pig flies down from somewhere and lands on Hedwig's perch

**Pig:** 'Ello chums very very very deep voice

**R:** And you are?

**P:** offended Everyone knows who I am…dramatic pause Everyone loves me…dramatic pause I am…PIG! Pig-Pig- Just Pig!

**H:** The trickster extraordinaire pauses with a very deep voice.

**CS: **FOR GOSH SAKES PIG! YOU GAVE US ALL A TERRIBLE FRIGHT! pauses yo.

**F:** squeaks in corner

**R**: I thought you were a gangsta?

**CS:** I am yo!

**R:** You're sounding like Ms. Granger.

**H:** How dare you compare that whore to my homi! stands up in anger

everyone looks at her

**H:** looks down Well, would you look at that! I'm okay! I can walk! does a short tap dance complete with Jazz hands!(how h does jazz hands is beyond me, but she does) and dance!

**R:** Oh, good. I don't have to waste my magical energy to heal you before..I mean…congratulations…shifty eyes

**H**: Jerk…so anyways, about Harry…

Animals: in unison Good lad that Harry is!

**CS:** yo.

**R:** now Pig…Buckbeak crashes through the window

All animals in unison yet again SON OF A…BUCKBEAK!!

**CS**: Yo! Yo!

**R:** Buckbeak?! The escaped hippogriff?

**CS**: So, Harry…good lad that Harry is…yo.

**R:** That all you gonna say?

**CS**: Well, except for that one time he dropped kicked me…

**H**: yeah, I forgot about that...but it doesn't matter! He's still a good lad!

**CS**: Damn straight yo!

**BuckBeak**: OH my gosh! I just say Harry and Hermione!

**P:** And what about them old pal! lands on bb's head and everyone looks at bb in interest.

**BB**: Well…I guess SOMEthing happened at the…NO! I can't say!

**CS:** Sucking up to BB Come on…you can tell us, we won't tell anyone…one, except maybe she will jerks head to Hedwig

**H**: That wasn't very nice of you Crook..sound dejected

**CS**: cuts off But it's true! Yo!

**H:** Yeah, I know. sounds bouncy so, anyways, bb, spill it!

**BB:** Well….I don't know….

**R:** holds up dead animal I'll give you this!

**BB:** looks happy OK! OK! I'll tell! Well…you see…I hear Hermione came onto Harry at the hospital…they looked…very happy together.

**H**: How so!? perks up

**P**: Well…Harry is a good lad you know…

**CS: **True dat yo!

**F**: DOESN'T ANYONE CARE ABOUT ME ANYMORE!?

**Everyone**: NO! CS: yo.

**BB:** They were hugging…and kissing.

**Everyone:** That's it! groans

**BB:** Well…Harry's a good lad you know!

**Everyone:** We know!

**R:** Well, we all know you think Harry's a good lad and Hermione's...desperate. What about Ronald Weasly?

**P:** What about him?

**R:** What's the dirt on him?

**Animals:** Dirt? Who's covered in flippin' dirt?! Cs: yo!

**H:** I swear that woman has something wrong with her! Dirt! Honestly!

**R:** frustrated What do you think about Ron!

**P:** Ah, Ron…good lad he is. Dumb as a post, but funny as all hell.

**CS:** Tru dat yo!

**H:** Well, he can't quite help it now can her Pig…it's not his fault the light's not always on in his small head.

**P:** I know, I know, but it gets annoying always having to spell things out for him!

**F:** YOU talk in front of RON!

**P:** You talk in front of Dumbledore

**F**: Dumbledore, good man. But he's not all that bright.

Pig goes to reply when a throat clears. Everyone turns to the door to see a lost looking anteater in the doorway

**Anubis** Um…am I interrupting? Sorry about that. Well..anyways…I'm looking for Mary. Have any of you seen her?

**Everyone:** Mary?

**Anubis** you know…little dead girl, can walk through walls, about yeah high…

**R:** Don't think we've seen her everyone nods in agreement

**A:** whimpers But…but…I need to find her….I'm lost without her…sits down and sniffles

**CS:** Wanna wait here yo?

**A:** I…I don't know…I should really try to find her…

**BB**: She have a…I…bell thing?

**A:** jumps p and tackles BB YES WHERE IS SHE!? TELL ME!

**BB:** I…I…I….whimpers and burst into tears

**CS:** Uh…Mr. Anteater…yeah…he's sensitive yo.

**A**: hops down Sorry, but I really need to find her…tell me…please?

**BB:** tears streaming from eyes I…I…saw her…last year…see…Sirius got mad and…and…it was very…traumatic.

**Animals:** nod

**A:** Starts bawling Mary! I want my Mary!

**R:** mutters clingy much?

**H:** flies over to Anubis and grabs his ears in an attempt to drag him out the door This is MY Interview! MINE!

**CS:** Don't hurt my odda Homie yo!

**H:** But it's MY INTERVIEW! MINE!

**CS:** Don't make me bust a cap in yo ass homie yo!

**A:** I only want to find Mary…no interview.

**F:** Hedwig is simple minded and only cares about fawkes changes back to full size HEY! I'm me again! sings I'm so pretty, oh so pretty! I'm so pretty and witty and bright!

**CS:** Yo, not my homie, spare us all and shut up yo.

**F:** looks offended I have you know, I was once the lead of

**CS:** growls

**F:** stops talking

**P:** STOP!!!! Everyone freezes Hedwig, stop pulling on the anteaters ears and sit down.

**H:** But..

**P:** DO IT! H glares at P but sits on perchBB, stop whimpering, no one's hurting you so stop it. BB Sniffles and lays down in the corner CS, for the love of god, please leave Fawkes alone. I know it's a good past time, but we need him to shut up. CS grumbles and mutters while he sits under H's perch And Fawkes..

**F**: Yes?

**P:** Just shut up.

**A:** But where's Mary! I want Mary!

**P:** Then go find her!

**R:** BB, how is it being locked up in a room?

**BB:** I like the privacy, but one misses fresh air.

before others could answer, a little girl with black eyes and a bell around her neck walks through the wall.

**A: **wiggles with excitement MARY! MARY MARY MARY MARY MARY! You're here! Oh I was so scared Mary! I'm glad you found me!

**Mary:** blinks and nods

**P:** Oh, good, he found his Mary.

Harry walks in the door (HP), Mary and Anubis disappear, all the animals stare at HP blankly.  
**P&H:** Hoot! (translates to: Good lad that Harry is)

**CS:** Meow! (translates to: Harry my home dog yo!)

**F:** Squawk! (translates to: I'm so pretty, oh so pretty)

**BB**: bows (Translates to: Hello sunshine!)

**HP:** What the…You! points at Rita What are you doing here?!

**R:** I…I…uh pauses Well, I'm here to interview them.

**HP:** deadpans They are animals…they can't talk.

**R:** Tell that to my editor. I have it taped though! I have proof!

**HP&R**: look at tape recorder

**CS**: looks up with tape recorder parts in mouth Meow. translates to What yo?

**H:** Hoot. (translates to: Good job homie!)

**HP**: looks at Rita skeptically

**R:** I, I swear they were talking!

door opens and Ron (RW) and Hermione (HG) enter

**HG**: sees R What are you doing here?!

**RW:** is deeply confusedWhat's going on?

**HP:** points at R SHE Is interviewing our pets.

**HG&RW:** deadpan

**RW:** Wait…say that again

**HP:** Rolls eyes Never mind Ron. Don't hurt yourself.

**RW:** Smiles brightly OK!

**HG:** smiles cheekily at Harry

**HP:** winks at Hermione

**R:** is snapping pictures like crazy

**CS:** attacks R

**Animals:** make all appropriate animal noises (Translates to Get her! Get her!)

**HP**: looks around confused and reaches for Hermione's hand Let's uh…go study…ok?

**HG:** grins happily and states seductively I know just the place…

HP&HG start to leave

**RW:** sits down in a chair and starts humming

**RW**: Wait! Where are you guys going!?

**HP:** To study!

**RW:** Why?

HG&HP: run away quickly

**RW:** looks confused

**P: **mutters Good lad, but dumb as a post.

**BB:** Pay up! I won the bet!

**F: **No way Hippo!

CS: pounces on F and F bursts into flames again

F: NOT AGAIN!

R: lord help me mutters as she turns into a fly and buzzes away

RW: watches fly with interest and pulls out wand. Shoots sparks at the fly, fly falls to th ground twitching.

R: GOOD BYE CRUEL WORLD! dies

Everyone left in room: cheers and starts doing the hustle

**THE END!**


End file.
